Amazon indigenous protesters vow indefinite roadblock

Yahoo – AFP, Joao Laet,  August 20, 2020

Members of the Kayapo indigenous tribe are blocking a highway through the Brazilian
Amazon demanding help against the new coronavirus and an end to illegal mining
and deforestation

Armed with spears and bows, dozens of indigenous protesters in Brazil vowed Thursday to maintain a roadblock on a key highway until the authorities listen to their demands for help fighting COVID-19 and deforestation.

Members of the Kayapo Mekranoti ethnic group have been blocking highway BR-163 through the Amazon since Monday outside the northern town of Novo Progresso.

But they vowed that they would no longer lift their blockade periodically to let truckers through, as they had done for the past two days.

"We're going to stay right here until the government sends its representatives to talk with us," one protest leader, Mudjere Kayapo, told AFP.

The highway is the main artery to ship corn and soybeans, two of Brazil's main exports, from the country's central-western agricultural heartland.

A federal judge has ordered the protesters to stand down, citing the economic damage they are inflicting.

She rejected an appeal Wednesday, and has ordered the federal police to remove the protesters if they do not comply.

The Kayapo Mekranoti warned that would lead to violence.

"We do not want to fight. But we will not accept the army or police coming here and removing us by force. If that happens, there will be blood spilled on the asphalt," they said in a letter to the government's indigenous affairs office, FUNAI.

Wearing feather headdresses and body paint, the protesters burned a letter from FUNAI rejecting some of their demands and calling for patience on others.

The Kayapo Mekranoti are demanding far-right President Jair Bolsonaro's government release funds they say they are owed for environmental damage the highway caused to their land.

They also want help fighting illegal mining, deforestation and the new coronavirus, which has hit especially hard among indigenous people in the region.

In Brazil, the country with the second-biggest COVID-19 death toll worldwide after the United States, 26,000 indigenous people have been infected and 690 have died in the pandemic, according to the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples' Association (APIB).

"Our rights are being violated," the protesters said.

"Indigenous health is growing more fragile by the day... We are here to defend the Amazon and protect our territory. But the government wants to open indigenous lands to illegal projects, including mining, logging and ranching."

Chile president launches health care reform project

Yahoo – AFP, January 5, 2020

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera has announced a raft of measures aimed
at appeasing protesters and ending months of chaos (AFP Photo/HO)

Santiago (AFP) - Chile's President Sebastian Pinera launched on Sunday a reform project to create a "universal health plan" following months of protests against social inequality and his leadership.

"This plan is based on what the people have asked us for," said Pinera as he presented the project.

A poor public health system and sky-high private costs were among the main gripes of demonstrators.

Congress sat on Sunday to deal with a number of projects as part of Pinera's "social calendar" aimed at appeasing protesters.

The new health plan would benefit the 14.5 million people who rely on public services as well as the three million using private care.

Congress has tried to rush through social projects to help defuse the protest movement that began on October 18, initially as a reaction to a modest metro fare hike.

Twenty-nine people have died during the worst social unrest to hit Chile since the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship ended 30 years ago.

One of Pinera's main policy changes has been to enact a law allowing the South American country to hold a referendum on changing the Pinochet-era constitution.

His new health plan will include "a guaranteed maximum waiting time (and) a drop in the price of medicines," as well as other changes, Pinera said.

He said the government would subsidize "the 200 main" medicines used for chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, resulting in a 60 percent reduction in costs.

Related Article:

Chile president signs off on constitutional change referendum

Chile president signs off on constitutional change referendum

Yahoo – AFP, December 23, 2019

A demonstrator in front of the presidential palace during a protest against Chilean
President Sebastian Pinera's government on December 20, 2019 (AFP Photo/
Martin BERNETTI)

Santiago (AFP) - Chile President Sebastian Pinera enacted a law on Monday that will allow the South American country to hold a referendum on April 26 to change its military dictatorship era constitution.

Changing the constitution enacted under former dictator Augusto Pinochet, who ruled from 1973-90, was one of the main demands made of Pinera as he bids to end two months of protests against his government and inequality.

"This reform opens the doors and defines a path to achieve a great constitutional agreement," said Pinera in signing into law a bill approved last week by Congress.

Many Chileans believe the constitution to be a source of many inequalities affecting them.

They will be asked two questions on April 26: do they want a new constitution and who should draft it.

The second question refers to whether or not those tasked with the redrafting should be specifically elected by the public to do so, for example in the formation of a new constitution assembly.

The government favors a committee made up half of existing lawmakers and half by a new group elected directly by the public to draft the constitution, while the opposition prefers a committee made up entirely of specifically elected members.

The decision to hold a referendum to change the constitution was reached following an agreement last month between the government and left-wing opposition parties and came just two days after particularly violent protests.

Pinera signed the enactment at the presidential palace in the company of socialist former president Ricardo Lagos, who 15 years ago introduced a number of significant constitutional reforms.

Should Chileans vote to redraft the constitution, a new poll to elect those responsible for the task in hand would be held in October 2020, during regional and municipal elections.

The constitutional body would then have nine months to come up with a new text, a deadline which could be extended by a further three months.

"This referendum, the first in 30 years, should serve us in leaving behind the violence and divisions that we've painfully and sadly seen resurging these last few days," said Pinera.

One of the protesters main demands is that Pinera resign.

Pinera was initially opposed to constitutional reform when he was elected to replace socialist Michelle Bachelet last year.

The constitution has been changed numerous times since it was enacted in 1980.

'The rapist is you': Chile hymn against sexual violence goes viral

Yahoo – AFP, December 5, 2019

Women of all ages from around Santiago dressed in black, sporting red scarves and
blindfolds, converged on the sporting venue in the early evening after a call-out on
social media networks (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Santiago (AFP) - Thousands of women have mobbed the National Stadium in Chile's capital for a flash denunciation of sexual violence -- the latest performance of a battle-cry that has seized public attention during weeks of national unrest.

Women of all ages from around Santiago, dressed in black and wearing red scarves and blindfolds, converged on the sporting venue in the early evening after a call-out on social media networks.

"The fault is not with me, nor where I was, nor how I was dressed... The rapist is you!" the group sang, stomping their feet and waving their arms in a choreographed routine that has in recent weeks been staged around the country and around the world.

Similar performances have been staged by women as far away as Paris, Barcelona and Mexico City.

"It was a great experience to share this with thousands and thousands of women," 66-year-old Jacqueline Saintard told AFP after Wednesday's demonstration.

First created by the feminist collective LasTesis, based in the Chilean seaside town of Valparaiso, the performance began to be emulated after reports of police violence against women and as countrywide demonstrations against the government gained steam.

Those protests initially erupted in mid-October over metro fare hikes but quickly escalated into the most severe outbreak of social unrest since the end of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet nearly 30 years ago.

Furious Chileans have taken to the streets in the weeks since to protest social and economic inequality.

More than 3,500 women were killed across Latin America and the Caribbean in acts of gender-based violence last year, according to UN data.

Women in Chile's capital gather to sing a song against gender-based violence. The song, which has gone viral, originated in the country in the midst of the ongoing social crisis https://t.co/RMXets0Y3f pic.twitter.com/674hjVzVsF

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 5, 2019

Chile's president condemns police violence after four weeks of unrest

Yahoo – AFP, November 18, 2019

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera addresses the nation in Santiago (AFP
Photo/CLAUDIO REYES)

Santiago (AFP) - President Sebastian Pinera condemned on Sunday for the first time what he called abuses committed by police in dealing with four weeks of violent unrest that have rocked Chile.

"There was excessive use of force. Abuses and crimes were committed, and the rights of all were not respected," the president said in a speech to the nation as it marked a month of turmoil that has left 22 people dead and more than 2,000 injured.

Furious Chileans have been protesting social and economic inequality, and against an entrenched political elite that comes from a small number of the wealthiest families in the country, among other issues.

Accusations of police brutality and human rights violations have been levelled since the protests broke out, prompting the United Nations to send a team to investigate. Amnesty International has also sent a mission.

"There will be no impunity, not for those who committed acts of unusual violence, nor for those who committed excesses and abuses. We will do what is best for the victims," he said, referring to protesters first and then the security forces.

Pinera also praised an agreement reached last week under which Chile will draft a new constitution to replace the current one that dates back to the rightwing dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who ruled from 1973 to 1990.

Many in Chile see this step -- getting rid of a charter that smacks of a dark, repressive chapter in the country's past -- as a way to help end the crisis. It is a key demand of the thousands of protesters that have been taking to the streets in Santiago and elsewhere almost daily for a month.

The spasm of anger began with a rise in metro fares but quickly swelled into a broader outcry against the status quo in what is traditionally considered one of South America's most stable countries.

"If the people want it, we will move toward a new constitution, the first under democracy," Pinera said in a speech from the presidential palace.

Chile to amend constitution, a key demand of protesters

Yahoo – AFP, November 11, 2019

The Chilean government is in the process of preparing "a draft amendment of the
constitution," President Sebastian Pinera has said (AFP Photo/MARTIN BERNETTI)

Santiago (AFP) - Chile has announced it will move to draft a new constitution and replace one dating back to the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship -- a key demand of protesters who have rocked the country for three weeks.

The new constitution will be drafted by a body called a constituent assembly and then put to a referendum for ratification, Interior Minister Gonzalo Blumel said Sunday.

Blumel made the announcement after meeting with a coalition of center-right and right-wing parties, which had been reluctant to change the constitution inherited from the era of the US-backed general Pinochet (1973-1990).

The government was in the process of preparing "a draft amendment of the constitution," President Sebastian Pinera said in an interview published Saturday by the daily El Mercurio.

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera says "a better definition of human rights" is 

among proposed changes to the constitution (AFP Photo/JAVIER TORRES)

Among the proposed changes are "a better definition of human rights" and their means of enforcement, plus clarification on "the obligations of the state" and "better mechanisms of participation" for citizens, added the president.

The current constitution, in force since 1980, has already undergone more than 200 changes in more than 40 articles, Pinera said.

But it does not establish the state's responsibility to provide education and healthcare -- two demands made by millions of Chileans who have taken to the streets.

Some opposition leaders reacted optimistically.

"The government is beginning to have a sense of reality," said Felipe Harboe of the opposition Party for Democracy.

Protests in Chile have left 20 dead - five at the hands of state forces -
and more than 1,000 injured (AFP Photo/Dante ROSSI)

A general public- sector strike began on Monday. Dozens of people protested before the presidential palace in Santiago and protests snarled traffic elsewhere in the capital.

The crisis is Chile's biggest since its return to democracy in 1990, leaving 20 dead -- five at the hands of state forces -- and more than 1,000 injured.

The unrest that began on October 18 with protests against a rise in rush-hour metro fares has mushroomed into a broader outcry against the status quo, with burning, looting and daily confrontations between demonstrators and police.

Protesters cite low wages, high costs for education and healthcare and a yawning gap between rich and poor in a country dominated politically and economically by a few elite families.

The unrest in Chile began on October 18 with protests against a rise in rush 

hour metro fares (AFP Photo/RODRIGO ARANGUA)

After weeks of sometimes violent demonstrations, most polls show the protest movement is supported by 75 percent of Chileans.

A slightly larger number -- 87 percent, according to a survey by pollster Cadem published this month -- say they favor the protesters' demand for constitutional reforms.

A few days after Pinera became president in March 2018, his government announced it would not allow the consideration of a bill to amend the constitution that the previous president, the socialist Michelle Bachelet (2014-2018), had submitted to congress.

Chile said it will hold a referendum to replace the country's dictatorship-era constitution -- a key demand of protesters after nearly a month of violent civil unrest https://t.co/aTZcJH5Lfm

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 16 november 2019

Bolivia's Morales seeks new election but army calls on him to resign

Yahoo – AFP, Francisco JARA, Raul BURGOA and Francisco JARA, 10 November 2019

Bolivian President Evo Morales, seen here at a news conference
November 10, 2019, calls new elections

President Evo Morales called new elections Sunday but the commander of the armed forces asked him to resign "for the good of our Bolivia" after an OAS audit found serious irregularities in elections last month that gave the leftist leader a fourth term.

Morales, Bolivia's first president of indigenous descent, promised new elections under the direction of a revamped Supreme Electoral Tribunal in a televised address but did not say whether he would run again.

With no sign of violent protests abating, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Williams Kaliman, told reporters he was asking Morales "to resign his presidential mandate to allow for pacification and the maintaining of stability, for the good of our Bolivia."

Kaliman said the armed forces had ordered "military operations in the air and on land to neutralize armed groups that are acting outside the law" by attacking opposition demonstrators.

The commander of the police, General Vladimir Yuri Calderon, also called on Morales to step down.

There were signs of disarray among Morales supporters, with the head of the lower house of parliament and the ministers of mines and of hydrocarbons announcing their resignations.

Two of those resigning cited risks to their families after mobs attacked their respective houses in the city of Potosi.

The opposition runner-up in Bolivia's recent polls, Carlos 

Mesa, has called for President Evo Morales to resign

Protests have flared across Bolivia since Morales was declared the winner of the October 20 election, beating his nearest rival, centrist Carlos Mesa, by just enough to avoid a second round.

An audit of the election by the Organization of American States, however, found "irregularities that range from serious to indicative," in virtually every area reviewed -- in the technology used, the chain of custody of ballots, the integrity of the count, and statistical projections.

"This leads the technical auditing team to question the integrity of the election results," the report on their preliminary findings said.

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said the results giving the leftist leader a fourth term in office "must be annulled and the electoral process must begin again."

Calls for resignation

Opposition leaders were not appeased, however.

Mesa said Morales should resign "if he has a speck of patriotism left."

The leader of a protest movement, Luis Fernando Camacho, said Morales "has fractured the constitutional order and must resign."

In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the OAS to send a full mission to Bolivia to ensure free and fair new elections.

"In order to restore credibility to the electoral process, all government officials and officials of any political organizations implicated in the flawed October 20 elections should step aside from the electoral process," Pompeo added.

Police officers march with protesters against Bolivian President 

Evo Morales in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on November 9, 2019

The October 20 results showed Morales, in office since 2006, defeating Mesa by slightly over 10 points, just enough to ensure an outright first-round victory.

It is possible that Morales came in first place in the first round but "statistically improbable" that he obtained the 10 percent margin of victory needed to avoid a second round, the OAS report said.

It said "the manipulations of the informatic system are of such magnitude that they should be thoroughly investigated by the Bolivian state to get to the bottom of them and determine responsibilities in this serious case."

Police rebellion

The dramatic turnabout came two days after police in three cities joined anti-government protests and a day after the opposition rejected Morales' appeal for urgent, open-ended dialogue.

Three people have died and more than 350 were injured in three weeks of often violent protests calling for new elections and Morales' resignation.

On Sunday, three people were injured, one with a gunshot wound, after a bus carrying miners to La Paz to join opposition protesters outside the presidential palace came under attack.

On Saturday, demonstrators overran two state-run media outlets and forced them off the air, while some police stopped guarding the square where Morales' presidential palace is located.

Profile of Evo Morales, who called Sunday for 

new elections after violent protests and claims 

of electoral fraud in the first-round presidential 

vote, which he claimed to have won

In announcing the new elections, Morales said, "I want to lower the tension. Everyone has an obligation to bring peace to Bolivia."

Morales said that in the new elections "the Bolivian people will be able to democratically elect new authorities, incorporating new political actors."

That begged the question whether Morales would stand again for re-election, a source of controversy because Bolivia's constitution, which he promulgated himself a decade ago, limits presidents to two terms.

Morales said Bolivia's bicameral legislature, which his party controls, would meet in the coming hours for the parties to work out procedures for changing out the electoral tribunal.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis on Sunday exhorted Bolivians to await the full results of the OAS audit with "peace and serenity."

Cuba called on the international community to condemn the protests against its close ally Morales as an attempted coup by "imperialism and the oligarchy."

Related Article:

Bolivia President Evo Morales announces resignation - New

Chile's middle class takes to streets over crushing debt

Yahoo – AFP, Jordane BERTRAND, November 1, 2019

Clashes between demonstrators and security forces in Santiago have been
going on for two weeks (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Santiago (AFP) - It is not poverty that is driving Chile's middle class into the streets to join massive protests: it is debt, brought on by sky-high private health and education costs that have created an economic fragility many find unbearable.

That is why so many have taken part in two weeks of social upheaval, protesting against the economic policies of Chile's ruling elite.

Chile has an economic record that is the envy of Latin America: poverty has never been lower, dropping from 40 percent to less than 10 percent in 30 years, and transforming this country of 18 million into one where middle class citizens are the majority.

But for many, the ultra-liberal economic model inherited from the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-90) -- which privatized water, health, education and pensions -- has generated a "permanent worry" about unexpected expenses.

Nicolas Achondo, 33, was forced to close his restaurant.

After paying bills, wages and taxes, he had nothing left for private health insurance.

A motorbike accident left him owing thousands of dollars for treatment.

"I couldn't pay, they put me on the debtors list. That closes all doors to you: you can no longer get a bank loan or rent an apartment," he said.

Protesters are mostly angry about high private health and education costs --

 alongside low public standards -- and insufficient state pensions (AFP Photo/

Martin BERNETTI)

"I no longer had access to credit and my business started generating debts. It's very unfair."

Thanks to help from his family, he managed to pay off his debts but has no capital to relaunch his restaurant business. He now wants to emigrate to Canada.

"We don't get state subsidies. The only thing we can do is access bank loans to pay for housing, health, education, clothing," said Achondo.

His parents suffered the same fate. They owned a video store in the 1980s-90s but fell victim to evolving technology.

They managed to pay for their two eldest children's private education without needing loans, but could not afford the same for their younger two children, both of whom are in the vastly inferior public school system.

'With or without uterus'

Marisol Berrios, a social worker, took out loans to pay for her two children's higher education.

"Now they're both university professors but they have insecure contracts. They receive the minimum wage and have no health care."

At least 20 people have been killed since the protests began two weeks ago, 

with sporadic incidents of looting, arson and street violence (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

In a model with minimal state intervention, profitability is king.

As is often is the case, women are the hardest hit. They have to pay up to three times as much as men for health insurance when they want children.

"There are 'with uterus' contracts and 'without uterus' contracts that are cheaper. You pay a higher percentage when you're fertile," said Berrios.

Women also pay more in old age, says the 59-year-old, who admits to fearing retirement.

"I will retire in one year and my pension will be 170,000 pesos ($230)," said Berrios, who currently earns 1.2 million pesos ($1,620) a month.

"I went into depression about it this summer."

Health, education and pensions may be the biggest worries but on top of that are increases in electricity costs, a proliferation of motorway tolls around Santiago and an unregulated medication market.

For fed-up Chileans, it's this accumulation of expenses that weighs so heavily.

Decades of pent-up frustration have come pouring out over the last two weeks as 

Chileans protest against social and economic inequality (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

It was against this backdrop that a seemingly innocuous 3.75 percent hike in the price of a metro ticket lit a fuse under decades of pent-up frustration.

In a bid to douse the flames of discontent, conservative President Sebastian Pinera announced a raft of social measures: suspending a 9.2 percent hike in electricity bills and an annual 3.5 percent increase in toll charges.

But that didn't calm the public.

"Chile has awoken," has become one of the main slogans of anti-government protesters since October 18.

"We've woken up to the brutality of the system," said Berrios.

Crisis-wracked Chile pulls out as APEC, climate meet host

Yahoo – AFP, 30 October 2019

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said said "common sense"
dictated that neither meeting could be held in Chile

Chile pulled out of hosting two major international summits Wednesday as it struggled to restore order amid clashes between protestors and security forces that have left at least 20 dead.

President Sebastian Pinera said "common sense" had dictated the decision to withdraw from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and the Cop 25 climate change conference.

US President Donald Trump had said he was planning to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to lock down a "phase one" agreement at the November 16-17 APEC meeting that would partially have ended an 18-month trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

After more than 10 days of street protests, however, Pinera said the South American nation was not in a position to host that gathering or the December 2-13 climate convention.

"This has been a very difficult decision, a decision that has been deeply painful because we know exactly how important APEC and COP are for Chile and the world," said Pinera.

But he said "common sense" dictated that he had other priorities.

"When a father has problems, he must always prioritize his family over other options. The same goes for a president, he must always put his own compatriots first, ahead of any other considerations," he added.

Chile is grappling with its worst social crisis in decades that shows little sign of abating despite Pinera announcing a raft of measures aimed at placating protesters.

Demonstrators have demanded that the 69-year-old right-wing leader -- whose personal fortune is estimated by Forbes at $2.8 billion -- step down.

They have been angered by low salaries and pensions, poor public health care and education, and a yawning gap between rich and poor.

Pinera announced last week an increase in the minimum wage and pensions as well as measures to alleviate sky high health care costs and a streamlining of public offices.

On Monday he reshuffled his cabinet for the third time since coming to power in March 2018, but the street movement continues.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin had also been due to attend APEC, while teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was among 25,000 delegates expected for COP 25.

Chilean president vows major reshuffle after week of protests

Yahoo – AFP, October 26, 2019

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, in an address to the nation on October 26, 2019,
promised a major government reshuffle after a week of massive protests (AFP Photo/
Pedro Lopez)

Santiago (AFP) - Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Saturday announced a major government reshuffle, a day after more than one million people took to the streets in a massive protest for economic and political change.

"I asked all ministers to resign in order to form a new government and to be able to respond to these new demands," he said in an address to the nation, adding that a highly controversial state of emergency might be lifted Sunday if "circumstances permit."

The military also announced that an overnight curfew would be lifted Saturday.

"We are in a new reality," Pinera said. "Chile is different from what it was a week ago."

The government has been struggling to craft an effective response to the massive protests that were sparked by a rise in subway fares but fueled by a growing list of economic and political demands that include Pinera's resignation.

The breadth and ferocity of the demonstrations appear to have caught the government of Chile -- long one of Latin America's richest and most stable countries -- off guard.

A poster reading "Pinera Resign," combining pictures of Chilean President 

Sebastian Pinera (L) and the late dictator Augusto Pinochet, is seen on a 

lamppost during a demonstration in Santiago (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Another reshuffling

At least 19 people have died in the worst political violence in decades, and there has been widespread looting and arson.

Pinera, who assumed office in March 2018, had already shuffled his cabinet twice in 15 months as doubts grew about a slowing economy and his leadership.

One of the most controversial members in the current cabinet is Interior Minister Andres Chadwick, the president's cousin.

The police and army troops have been accused of using unnecessary force in putting down the protests. The United Nations is sending a team to investigate allegations of abuse.

More than one million people, representing a range of political backgrounds and from all social classes, took to the streets of Santiago and other cities on Friday in some of the largest protests ever seen in this country of 18 million.

Demonstrators carrying indigenous and national flags sang popular resistance songs from the 1973-90 Augusto Pinochet dictatorship era.

Santiago's governor Karla Rubilar praised the march, saying it represented "the dream of a new Chile." Police said 820,000 people marched in the capital.

People protest under a giant Chilean national flag in Santiago, on October 25

 (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

'Dream of a new Chile'

For the past week, pent-up anger has erupted over a socio-economic structure that many feel has left them by the wayside, with low wages and pensions, costly health care and education, and a big gap between rich and poor.

The protesters' demands now includes not only better social benefits but also the scrapping and replacing of the nation's Constitution, which dates from the Pinochet dictatorship.

Pinera apologized earlier in the week for failing to anticipate the outbreak of social unrest, and he announced a raft of measures designed to placate people, such as increases in minimum pensions and wages, higher taxes on the wealthy, and a rollback in the subway fare increase.

He called on legislators to "urgently approve these projects rather than arguing and debating so much."

Pinera, a conservative billionaire, said Friday on Twitter that "we have all heard the message. We have all changed. With unity and help from God, we will travel the road towards a Chile that is better for all."

Francisco Anguitar, a 38-year-old software developer attending the demonstrations Friday, told AFP, "We're asking for justice, honesty, ethical government. It's not that we want socialism or communism."

Drivers angry over toll charges demonstrate as part of protests over 

socio-economic woes (AFP Photo/Pablo VERA)

Drop in violence

In an initial burst of violence, metro stations were destroyed, supermarkets torched and looted, traffic lights and bus shelters smashed, and countless street barricades erected and set alight.

The national human rights institute INDH said 584 people have been injured and 2,410 detained during the protests.

Authorities deployed some 20,000 police and soldiers in Santiago, using tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators.

Soldiers have been guarding Santiago's metro stations as three of the seven lines -- which usually carry three million people per day -- have reopened.

Despite a recent decrease in serious incidents and arrests, the violence has been the worst since Chile returned to democracy after the Pinochet dictatorship.

The movement still lacks recognizable leaders and was mostly roused through social media, which analysts say makes it harder for the government to negotiate any resolution.

Demonstrators play the guitar performing Chilean musician Victor Jara's "The 

Right to Live in Peace" in Santiago, on October 25 (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

APEC summit still on

The government said on Thursday that next month's APEC trade summit in Santiago would go ahead despite the protests.

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are among those expected to attend the November 16-17 meeting.