There is trouble in Chile after two people died in violent protests over a subway fare hike. A frustrated citizen tweets: “The mainstream media is NOT covering this. For the first time since a dictatorship in the 1980s, the military has returned to the streets and they’re sanctioning violence against protesters and they are killing A simple retweet could save lives. Make the media cover this.”
The spasm of unrest was triggered by a hike in metro fares, which increased from 800 to 830 peso ($1.13 to $1.17) for peak-hour travel, after a 20-peso hike in January.
President Pinera announced Saturday he was suspending the fare hike, after the entire metro system was shut down the day prior with protesters burning and vandalizing dozens of stations, leaving some completely charred.
Another tweet says: “Chilean policemen are holding people hostage in a supermarket.”
“I stand with the student and the citizens of Čile who are resisting the monopolization of mass transit, energy & capitalization of poverty.”
Protesters in Chile earlier burned down the headquarters of an electric company that wanted to drastically raise prices. As with all these other prices and tax hikes in Čile, the poorest people are the hardest hit. They’re sick of it.
A reader told eTN: “Here in Čile (my country), the people are sick of the corruption and the abuse from the politicians, the police and the army.”
