Chile's president extends state of emergency after deadly riots
Chile’s government extended a state of emergency to several cities across the country, after a weekend of violent clashes, looting and arson attacks.
Five people were reported to have died on Sunday, after looters set a factory ablaze in a northern suburb of Santiago, the country’s capital city.
It brings the death toll from violent protests to at least eleven, the mayor of Santiago said earlier today.
A proposed hike in public transport fares, which has now been suspended, sparked nationwide protests last week. The demonstrations have since widened to reflect public anger at rising living costs and income inequality in one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries.
The military and police used tear gas and a water cannon against protesters over the weekend, with a night-time curfew also placed on residents in major cities.
It marks the first time since Chile returned to democracy in 1990 that the government has declared a state of emergency because of civil unrest in the capital.
Chile, a country of 19 million people, is known as Latin America’s most stable and business-friendly economy - but there is a sense that economic growth has failed to improve the lives of the majority of its citizens.
At: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/21/chile-protests-president-extends-state-of-emergency-after-riots.html
