Chile protests: Unrest in Santiago over metro fare increase
Reuters
A state of emergency has been declared in the Chilean capital, Santiago, after protests sparked by increased metro ticket prices turned violent.
Protesters - many of them high school and university students - jumped turnstiles, attacked several underground stations, started fires and blocked traffic, leaving widespread damage across the city and thousands of commuters without transport.
Television pictures showed protesters throwing stones, attacking police vehicles and burning at least one bus. Anti-riot police used tear gas and batons against some protesters, who have been demonstrating for days against the increase.
The unrest exposes divisions in the country, one of Latin America's wealthiest but also one of its most unequal. There have been growing complaints about the cost of living - especially in Santiago, a city of some six million people - and calls for economic reforms.
EPA
EPA
Speaking on television, President Sebastián Piñera said the aim of the state of emergency was to "ensure public order and the safety of public and private property". The measure allows authorities to restrict people's freedom of movement and their right to assembly.
He also said the government would "call for a dialogue... to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the increase in fares".
Earlier this month, the government increased fares by as much as $1.17 (£0.90) for a journey during peak hours, blaming higher energy costs and a weaker peso.
Reuters
Reuters
Speaking to Radio Agricultural earlier, President Piñera said: "It's one thing to demonstrate and another to commit the vandalism we have observed. This isn't protest, it's crime."
It was not immediately clear how many people had been detained or injured. Despite the protests, authorities said they would not reverse the fare increase."
The metro has been shut down for the weekend and we will have to wait till Monday to see if it reopens. We were at the office when all of this came about. We had missionaries trying to get back to their pensions after a meeting at the office. Some of them had waited for an hour for a bus and finally just came back. Thousands ride the metro daily and with it being rush hour on a Friday night the buses were overflowing and people were just standing in lines to hopefully get on one.
One of the bus stops.
Our missionaries finally called a member of their ward to get help in getting back home. They are on lock-down in their apartments for now. We have never seen people loaded into the back of trucks here like in El Salvador but Friday night everyone just wanted to get away from the riots and get home.
People were even thumbing for a ride from anyone in cars. The Hughes were on their way to the airport to deliver a missionary who is going home early. It took them 2 hours to get there, usually a half hour trip. The Acevedo's (our service missionaries in the office) are from Puente Alto, about a 45 minute ride on first the train (metro) and then a bus. They had no way to get home so we loaded them into the truck and we headed out. It took us 3 hours to go 17 miles to get them to their doorstop! We drove through the streets where we could see the aftereffects of the riots. The protesters were still at every entrance to the metro banging pots and pans and setting fires. They took the bikes and scooters that people rent and lined them up in the streets and set fire to the tires. We had to drive over one street sign that had been torn down.
These rocks were thrown at police trucks and cars. We saw one police van with dents all over it from the rocks. We were only one hour driving home but the lines of people trying to get out of the city were still bumper to bumper as we came in. We passed many empty buses from the outlying areas that were coming to the city to help people get home. Our Capilla Abierta was cancelled today due to the unsafe conditions. Hopefully the buses will not be shut down. With the entire metro system down, there is no way the buses can even start to service everyone. There is very little movement in our neighborhood right now. We are in a very safe area. As we came up the hill toward home last night you wouldn't even know there was a problem in the city. We don't have a metro station very close so that is one reason. We are thankful that all of our young missionaries made it home safe and sound. We think we will attend church close to home tomorrow. Another adventure we had not expected! We send our love
The metro has been shut down for the weekend and we will have to wait till Monday to see if it reopens. We were at the office when all of this came about. We had missionaries trying to get back to their pensions after a meeting at the office. Some of them had waited for an hour for a bus and finally just came back. Thousands ride the metro daily and with it being rush hour on a Friday night the buses were overflowing and people were just standing in lines to hopefully get on one.
Our missionaries finally called a member of their ward to get help in getting back home. They are on lock-down in their apartments for now. We have never seen people loaded into the back of trucks here like in El Salvador but Friday night everyone just wanted to get away from the riots and get home.
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