SANTIAGO, April 18 — Six months after the largest social unrest in 30 years broke out, the streets of Chile are calm once again as the coronavirus pandemic forces the country into lockdown. But experts say the underlying frustration and social inequality that sparked the mass demonstrations have...
Workers wearing protective gear disinfect taxis, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Santiago April 17, 2020. — Reuters pic
A mass movement against President Sebastian Pinera and his government erupted on October 18, initially triggered by a modest rise in metro fares in Santiago before mushrooming into general dissatisfaction with the cost of living and a system that seems to benefit the rich at the expense of all others.
Faced with a health crisis that has left more than 110 dead and over 9,200 infected, Pinera actually has the wind in his sails. The inescapable economic downturn that the pandemic will wreak led the International Monetary Fund to warn that countries such as Chile, Ecuador or France “remain vulnerable to new protests, particularly if policy actions to mitigate the Covid-19 crisis are perceived as insufficient or as unfairly favouring large corporates rather than people.
Many accuse millionaire 70-year-old businessman Pinera of being out of touch with the poor and middle classes in a country that posts impressive macroeconomic figures that mask a low average wage, high costs of basic services and the privatization of a huge part of its health and care sectors.
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