An estimated one million people clogged the streets of the Chilean capital on Friday as the government grapples to contain a week of deadly unrest over economic inequality.
Protesters congregated on wide avenues in Santiago as they marched to the capital’s central square to join what has been dubbed “the biggest march in Chile” against the government of President Sebastian Pinera. Earlier, truck drivers and some public transport workers went on strike around Santiago.
In the port city of Valparaiso, the National Congress was evacuated as protesters clashed with police. Thousands more rallied nationwide in the South American country of 18 million.
Aerial photograph shows thousands of protesters gathered to request the resignation of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, in the area surrounding Plaza Italia in Santiago, Chile. The increase in the price of the metro ticket of the Chilean capital marked the beginning of a wave of protests that, as the days went by, quickly morphed into a wider protest against social inequality. EPA-EFE/Rodrigo Saez
At least 19 people have died in a week of protests across the country that spurred the government to declare a state of emergency and implement curfews after rioters torched metro stations and destroyed property. Hundreds of people have been injured and more than 7,000 arrested in the unrest that has brought soldiers onto the streets.
The turmoil was triggered by a small increase in metro fairs in the capital but have morphed into a broader show of discontent with inequality in one of Latin America’s richest countries.
