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    Default Turmoil in Chile

    "We are at war!" As Chilean riots increase and death toll rises, thousands of soldiers take to the streets

    RT
    Mon, 21 Oct 2019 15:29 UTC


    Chilean armed soldiers advance during a protest in Santiago, Chile, October 20, 2019. © Reuters/Edgard Garrido

    The Chilean Army has declared another curfew as it struggles to contain violence that was triggered by transport fare hikes in Santiago, but has since spilled over beyond the capital, fueled by outrage over social inequality.

    To prevent looting and arson attacks, thousands of armed troops have been patrolling the capital over the weekend, under the state of emergency introduced in Chile for the first time since the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Following another day of clashes with protesters, the general in charge of security in Santiago announced an extension of the curfew until 6am on Monday morning.

    "This is not an action against the citizens, these are not restrictions for the sake of restrictions," said General Javier Iturriaga del Campo.

    "We do this to protect people's lives."


    Firefighter inside a burnt and looted supermarket in Valparaiso, Chile October 20, 2019
    © Reuters/Rodrigo Garrido

    Meanwhile, the death toll from the unrest increased to at least eight, after firefighters found five more bodies in the basement of a burnt-out warehouse. Earlier, three people were reported killed in two separate looting and arson attacks on supermarkets.


    A man takes photos of burned buses, which were destroyed during a protest against the increase in subway ticket prices in Santiago, Chile, October 20, 2019. © Reuters/Ivan Alvarado

    In a late-night televised statement from an army HQ in Santiago, President Sebastian Pinera said:
    "The unrest had a degree of organization, logistics, typical of a criminal organization" and urged Chileans to "unite in this battle against violence and delinquency. We are at war against a powerful enemy, who is willing to use violence without any limits."

    Soldiers patrol a street after a previous day's protest against the increase in subway ticket prices in Santiago, Chile, October 20, 2019 © Reuters/Ivan Alvarado

    Crowds of angry protesters have been setting fire to buses and metro stations, as well as looting shops and destroying public property, since Friday. Authorities reported over 100 "serious incidents" in which nearly 1,500 people were arrested across the country by Sunday, including 614 in Santiago alone.

    The state of emergency has now been extended to five more cities besides Santiago - and over 9,000 armed soldiers are deployed in the streets. Defending the government's heavy-handed response to the crisis, Pinera stated:
    "Democracy not only has the right, it has the obligation to defend itself using all the instruments that democracy itself provides, and the rule of law to combat those who want to destroy it."
    In a bid to defuse the crisis, Pinera hastily reversed the contentious transport fare hike, but it was not enough, as a wider public discontent over the government's economic policies and growing social inequality seems to have reached its tipping point.


    Demonstrators stand next to a burning barricade in Concepcion, Chile, October 20, 2019 © Reuters/Jose Luis Saavedra

    Chile is facing it worst unrest in decades amid its year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gatherings, and just as Santiago prepares to greet Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and other world leaders next month.

    Related:
    "La réalité est un rêve que l'on fait atterrir" San Antonio AKA F. Dard

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Chile

    From https://npr.org/2019/10/22/772078420/in-chile-protesters-decry-troop-deployment-as-a-pinochet-tactic

    In Chile, President Apologizes For Government's Failings As Violent Protests Continue
    22 Oct (updated 23 Oct), 2019

    A Chilean military convoy patrols the streets of the capital of Santiago on the fourth day of unrest on Tuesday.

    Chile's President Sebastián Piñera acknowledged government failures and announced economic reforms late Tuesday, in a move to restore calm amid widespread and sometimes violent protests over economic inequality.

    Violent Protests Rock The Chilean Capital Of Santiago

    In a nationally televised address, Piñera said he is listening to the people and apologized that Chile's governments, including his own, have failed to see their problems, NPR's Philip Reeves reports in the capital of Santiago.

    The reforms include improved pensions, a higher minimum wage and more taxes on the wealthy. Piñera has previously opposed such measures, Reeves reports.

    Demonstrations began on Oct. 14, when crowds of students refused to pay a metro fare increase by storming various stations and jumping over the turnstiles in Santiago. By Friday, what had been largely peaceful protests gave way to bouts of violence, destruction and looting, in which at least 15 people have died, according to officials.

    Piñera quickly suspended the modest fare hike and proposed a new "social contract" to benefit all Chileans. That has not stopped one of Chile's biggest public upheavals in a decade. The conservative president's sharp initial response — declaring "we are at war with a powerful enemy" and deploying the military to impose order — has provoked further unrest.

    Demonstrators say the troop presence on the streets triggers painful memories of the country's 17-year military dictatorship that ended in 1990. Thousands of Chileans were imprisoned, tortured or killed by Gen. Augusto Pinochet's regime.


    Riot police shoot tear gas and water cannons into a crowd of protesters in downtown Santiago on Monday.

    "It was like a slap in the face for all of us," says protester Paz Lagos, 54. "This history is still alive and we haven't forgotten what happened when the military took over the streets. It was a very hard time — many died. We do not want the same thing here."

    The wealthy 10%

    Protesters are angry that many Chileans have been left behind amid the country's economic development. Although overall poverty has gone down since the 1990s, the top 10% of earners make 26.5 times the average income, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD says Chile is one of its most unequal member countries.

    Political analyst Claudio Fuentes tells NPR's Reeves that protests are rising from a broad spectrum of people, including the middle class.

    "They have to pay schools, they have to pay pensions, they have to pay health care," Fuentes says. "So the efforts the family has to make every month are very costly."


    Military police stand guard at a supermarket as customers buy groceries in Santiago on Monday.

    Piñera has been widely criticized for having dinner with his family Friday night in a wealthy part of the city while protests raged. According to Forbes, the former businessman has a net worth of about $2.8 billion.

    The scenes of unrest and armed forces have been stunning in a country often considered one of Latin America's most peaceful and stable democracies.

    Most of the 15 deaths occurred during fires set by looters, officials say. But Interior Deputy Minister Rodrigo Ubilla said a few of the fatalities were at the hands of security officials and that the incidents are under investigation.

    About 10,500 police and soldiers are deployed in Santiago, according to Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick.

    Troops seem to be everywhere: metro stations, major plazas, shopping centers and throughout the streets.

    During one of the protests on Monday, police clad in riot gear shot tear gas and water cannons to disperse protests. Many of the demonstrators refused to run — carrying signs reading "They even took fear away from us."

    As of late Monday, more than 1,500 people were arrested during recent days of protests, the interior minister told reporters.

    On top of the strong military presence, three consecutive nights of curfews and long lines at the few open supermarkets have made many Chileans say it is reminiscent of the dictatorship.

    Thousands of protesters gathered in Santiago's Plaza Italia demanding more investments in public education, health care and pensions.

    "Not at war"

    When Piñera referred to the violence and destruction on Sunday by saying "We are at war," it further enraged protesters. Many have carried signs all over the city reading, "We are not at war, we are united."


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    Default Re: The Turmoil/Chaos Pattern all over the Planet

    In Chile, a country of around 17 million people, more than 1 million people are out in the streets of capital Santiago protesting neoliberalism and the US-friendly govt's repression of protest. But at least 18 people have been killed, hundreds have been injured, and over 7,000 arrested.The Western media are curiously silent about the scale of the uprising. #ChileDespertoً



    This tweet says "We are not at war, we are United" I think this phrase best summarises what we are seeing happen all around the world.


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    Default Re: Turmoil in Chile

    Protesters in Chile disrupt lithium mines with road blockade amid growing anti-government demonstrations

    RT
    26 Oct, 2019 05:35 /
    Updated 2 hours ago
    Get short URL


    (L) Protesters march in Santiago, Chile, October 25, 2019; (R) FILE PHOTO: An aerial shot of brine pools at a SQM lithium mine in northern Chile. © Reuters / Ivan Alvarado; Reuters / Ivan Alvarado

    Indigenous activists in Chile have shut down lithium mining operations for some of the world’s largest producers, as the country is gripped by protests over widespread perceptions of inequality.

    Chile’s capital saw its biggest rally yet on Friday, following seven straight days of demonstrations sparked by a hike in public transportation fees, in which at least 18 people have been killed, over 200 injured and thousands arrested. As things heated up in Santiago, however, protesters nearly 700 miles north locked down roadways in the Atacama salt flats, blocking access routes to some of the region’s abundant lithium mines.

    Chile is home to the world’s largest lithium reserves, as well as one of the top producers of the lightweight metal – used in cell phone batteries and other electronics – the Chemical and Mining Society (SQM).

    The effort to close the roads has been underway since Wednesday, Sergio Cubillos, president of the Atacama Indigenous Council, told Reuters, adding that SQM’s operations were “completely shut down” by Friday.
    The roads are closed.
    A Santiago-based spokeswoman for SQM told Reuters she had so far been unable to obtain confirmation about the halt in operations.

    Cubillos also said that the blockades disrupted the work of US-based lithium company Albemarle. However, a company representative denied that its facilities had been affected, acknowledging only minor upsets due to nationwide disruptions in the country’s public transportation system.

    As tens of thousands poured into Santiago and cities across Chile on Friday, chanting slogans and waving national flags, the police and military presence remained sizable. However, while rallies throughout the week were marked by eruptions of violence, Friday’s gathering appeared to avoid major clashes, with both protesters and security forces showing more restraint.
    President Sebastian Pinera proposed a series of reforms on Tuesday night – which included lowered electricity costs and overturning the increase in transportation fees that sparked the rallies – but was largely rejected by the burgeoning protest movement, which apparently did not find the promises persuasive.
    "La réalité est un rêve que l'on fait atterrir" San Antonio AKA F. Dard

    Troll-hood motto: Never, ever, however, whatsoever, to anyone, a point concede.

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Chile

    Kudos to Chile...they got more done than the Catalans!!!


    Chile protests: President sacks whole cabinet after protests

    Chile's President Sebastian Piñera has dismissed his whole cabinet in order to form a new government and introduce social reforms demanded by protesters.

    "I have put all my ministers on notice in order to restructure my cabinet to confront these new demands," he said.

    It is not yet clear what form the reshuffle will take.

    More than a million people joined a peaceful rally on Friday in the capital Santiago, calling for social justice.

    Mr Piñera said he had heard the demands from the streets.

    "We are in a new reality," he said. "Chile is different from what it was a week ago."

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50197673



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    Default Re: Turmoil in Chile

    SITREP Chile: Police Violence in the streets

    The Saker
    October 26, 2019

    Note from the Saker: A Chilean friend send me the video below with the following explanation:
    A commission has been established to analyze the Emergency State declared by the President of Chile, Mr. Sebastian Piñera.

    The commission has asked a constitutional lawyer, Mr. Jaime Bassa to issue an statement.

    Summarized, he states the following
    1.- what is happening at the moment is that an exception to the exceptional state is what best describes the situation. What is happening on the streets of Chile has absolutely no constitutional support and is pure factual State Violence. Being very responsible with the wording, can be said that the constitutional norm establishes different ways to execute this exceptionalism. They can be gradually selected according the severity of the emergency: from external to internal shock.

    This means that the limit of citizen guarantees restrictions it will depend on the seriousness of the threat. This is a key issue. What has been declared here is an emergency state, and this facilitates ONLY the President, to limit the exercise of freedom of movement and reunion of the population.

    2.- He can delegate this function on a local authority, but this has not happened.

    3.- however factually other liberties have been severed: information and press freedom, freedom to express opinions, against the right to peaceful protest at home. People are being detained in places that have not been authorized by law to serve to this purpose, people have been taken prisoners from their homes. This means that factually the military institutions is acting with no control and as if martial law had been declared, which is not true, ONLY an emergency state has been declared, as above described.
    This is all very dangerous and mainly illegal.

    4.- This law was originally issued in 1985 and reformed in 1990. This is the first time this law is used for a political situation, as before this time it has been only been used in catastrophe instances; earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, fire, etc

    5.- actual curfew is also illegal and people who disobey it are not legally committing a crime, and should not be detained, it is an offense to be punished only by fine
    What the initial twitter video shows is exactly the abuses currently being committed by the Chilean armed forces against the population, totally illegal and with no political responsibility!!

    He talks a lot more but I think this is quite enough to understand why this is illegal.

    Meanwhile, Piñera has laid off the parliament at plenum!

    My intuition tells me that this all has a lot to do to change the legislation to make if fit for the TPT. I think the establishment, PC included are behind this emergency state, but now they are losing control of it.
    https://resumen.cl/articulos/tpp11-e...r-opFSqNnqGvUk

    "La réalité est un rêve que l'on fait atterrir" San Antonio AKA F. Dard

    Troll-hood motto: Never, ever, however, whatsoever, to anyone, a point concede.

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Chile

    This is quite something. The protests in Chile include an open air orchestral performance:

    *I have loved the stars too dearly to be fearful of the night*

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Chile

    Picked up from the Avalon twitter account earlier, here's some pretty amazing footage
    "Chileans enter the military barracks that was [sic] used to torture Chileans during the dictatorship and they burn it. 👏"
    “If a man does not keep pace with [fall into line with] his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” - Thoreau

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Chile

    From https://bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-54594707

    Chile protests turn violent on anniversary

    19 October, 2020



    Demonstrations in Chile against inequality have turned violent as vandals burned two churches, virtually destroying one of them.

    A police headquarters was also firebombed and shops were looted in the protests, which started peacefully.

    The protests were marking a year since the start of a mass protest movement that rocked Chile for two months.

    Demonstrators also urged people to vote in favour of a new constitution in a referendum next weekend.

    Protesters have taken issue with Chile's constitution, which dates back to the years of military rule after Gen Augusto Pinochet seized power in 1973.

    Police said 18 officers were injured on Sunday, while Interior Minister Victor Perez called on people to make themselves heard in the referendum.

    "Those who carry out these acts of violence do not want Chileans to solve our problems through democratic means," Mr Perez said, vowing to punish those who committed crimes.



    Police fired tear gas and water cannons during clashes.

    Protests first erupted in Chile in October last year and were held almost daily, but largely subsided as coronavirus spread.

    The protests were originally triggered by a rise in the price of metro tickets in Santiago, but soon became a much wider movement denouncing inequality in Chile, the high costs of healthcare and poor funding of education.



    Excessive use of force by police, with hundreds of protesters blinded by rubber bullets, further stoked Chileans' anger.

    At the height of the protests last October, Chile pulled out of hosting two major international summits, the COP25 climate summit and the Apec trade forum, for fear of violence.

    More than 30 people lost their lives and thousands were injured during the demonstrations.

    See also:

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Chile

    https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1601894566663049216

    "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all."
    - - - - Emily Elizabeth Dickinson. 🪶💜

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