A flow of protests has shaken Chile in the past few days: from a demonstration which begun due to the rise in metro prices, it has expanded itself into something bigger and more uncontrollable. Now thousands have taken to the streets over austerity and inequality.
The Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos de la República de Chile, the autonomous public law corporation responsible for the promotion and protection of the human rights of the inhabitants of Chile, is reporting an increase of violence during the protests. It counted 18 deaths, five of them died in clashes with the police or soldiers, while 269 have been wounded, 137 of them by firearm.
Many cases of violence by the military forces are under investigation: it has not established whether or not there was torture at the Baquedano metro station, as some chileans have accused. One thing is sure: the excessive use of force by the Chilean government is undermining rights and the full exercise of citizenship, but the chilean people is united and won’t give up.
At the moment, a march is moving on peacefully all over the country, followed by the police which persecutes even those peaceful manifestations as it used to happen during the dictatorship thirty years ago. What they are screaming is “Chile has woken up“. There are no party flags, this revolt screams only with anger against abuses.
The president of Chile, Piñera has unveiled social measures to calm down the protests, saying: “I recognise this lack of vision and I apologise to my compatriots“. Among the proposals, there is the increasing of the lowest monthly pensions, the raising of the monthly minimum wage, and the rescinding of electricity rates scheduled to take effect next month. They also included a tax increase for anyone earning more than $11,000 a month.
