Protests continue in Chile, president remains defiant

Protests in Chile over social injustice and poor living conditions have entered their third week, as embattled President Sebastian Pinera defies calls to resign.

On Tuesday, police fired teargas and water cannon at around 2,000 protesters who flooded the streets of the capital city, Santiago, throwing rocks at the law enforcement. One officer was hit in the face with a Molotov cocktail.

A day earlier, tens of thousands of people had gathered in the Plaza de Italia, the epicenter of the protests, and tried to march on the presidential palace in downtown Santiago. Clashes broke out with police trying to contain them.

In the cities of Vina del Mar, Valparaiso, and Concepcion, looting and vandalism were reported.

The recent wave of protests is considered to be the largest civil disobedience movement in the country in decades.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of Chile’s billionaire President Pinera.

In an interview with the BBC, Pinera said he would not resign despite the ongoing mass anti-government protests across the country. He defended the use of force by police and the stepped-up security measures against protesters, describing those measures as both “democratic and constitutional.”

He acknowledged though that there had been reports of police brutality that he said he would look into. “I can guarantee you that it will be investigated,” Pinera said.

The protests were triggered by a rise in the price of subway fares in Santiago. The price hike was later retracted. The demonstrations have since evolved into a movement aimed at improving the overall poor living conditions in the country.

The unrest prompted the president to promise social and economic reforms in the prosperous Latin American country; however, he has refused to take the blame.

SS