What You Need to Know About the Protests in Chile

Income inequality is one of the primary issues that has driven over a million Chileans to the streets (Image)

Over the past few weeks, mass protests and unrest have erupted in Chile, capturing international attention. In a country often seen as a tentpole of stability and prosperity in a sometimes rocky Latin America, these protests have surprised and worried many.

The protests nominally started in response to a subway fare increase in Santiago that began on Oct. 6. The fare increase prompted activists—many young students—to purposefully evade the fares, leading to a police crackdown on turnstile jumpers at metro stations. Protests against this crackdown evolved into the mass protests and unrest continuing today. Since the beginning of the demonstrations, though, the people have made clear that the root causes go far beyond public transit: demands have come to envelop a wide range of issues focused on the problem of income inequality in Chile and large-scale structural change on the political and economic level. 

Despite Chile’s economic growth and stability over the past few decades, inequality is a major problem for millions of Chileans, as the gains from the country’s success has benefited the wealthy the most. This has left many, especially young people, feeling left behind, financially stressed, and worried about debt and retirement. In this climate, the subway fare increase proved symptomatic of the increasing strains many lower and middle class families who rely on public transportation sparked a larger movement. Juan Ángel, a 60-year-old teacher from Santiago, sums up the sentiments of many Chileans: 

“I want change and I want it now. The cost of living keeps rising and our money is badly distributed – in pensions, in healthcare and in education. There is privilege for armed forces, the priests, the politicians, the corporations. And to change that? You have to change the constitution.” 

As the protests have grown, many have become violent as police and protesters clash, while there has been widespread looting and arson in major cities. At this point, at least 18 people have died and hundreds more have been injured in the unrest. In response, President Sebastián Piñera has instituted a state of emergency, curfews, and employed a heavy military presence to maintain control, a response many protesters and international observers are calling an unjust and violent crackdown. 

Piñera has also, since the start of these protests, gotten rid of the subway fare increase, promised welfare and pension reform, and removed his entire cabinet in order to form a new government and focus on fresh changes and reforms. But, President Piñera—a center-right, wealthy businessman turned politician that many see as a symbol of Chile’s inequality problems—has not fully appeased the protesters yet, who seek further change and an end to the state of emergency. The protests have continued with more than a million people marching in Santiago and marches spreading to other major cities such as Valparaiso.

These protests are the largest in Chile since the country’s return to democracy in 1990 after the brutal and repressive dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet killed and detained thousands of Chileans. Some fear that President Piñera’s intense response to the protests—using the military to repress protests and instituting a state of emergency—are worryingly similar to the actions of the Pinochet dictatorship. These critics are concerned about police brutality, reports of torture, and 20 people missing, especially after President Piñera stated in a televised speech that “[we] are at war against a powerful enemy, who is willing to use violence without any limits,” rhetoric that resembles the reasoning behind the state-sponsored terrorism under Pinochet. In response to these concerns, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet—who is now the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights—has ordered an investigative team to be sent to Chile to examine the allegations of human rights violations. 

Now, as the protests have led Chile to withdraw from hosting an important United Nations climate meeting and an Asia-Pacific trade summit later in the year, it is unclear what the next steps of President Piñera will be and demonstrations across the country are ongoing. Will Chile, once seen as a beacon of economic success and democracy in Latin America, be able to emerge from the unrest in a stable manner? What will happen next is unclear, but it is obvious that Chile is at an important crossroads as the country grapples with the serious problems of economic inequality that is increasingly unsustainable.