Chile: battle in Santiago, extension of curfew and already 15 dead

Although the majority of protesters remained peaceful, groups of people were seen running to escape the clouds of smoke from the tear gas canisters fired by security agents, who were acting in a protected manner. behind several armored tanks.

Groups of protesters challenged the use of force and confronted the police with stones or simply raised their arms in front of the tanks, which were sometimes surrounded by two groups of demonstrators.

Other mass demonstrations took place parallel to several places in the interior of the country, notably in Valparaíso and Concepción.

The army has announced the curfew for the fourth day in Santiago, amid protests that make up fifteen dead, four by security force bullets. The others died during fires and looting, according to the prosecutor's office. The list includes a Peruvian citizen and an Ecuadorian citizen.

The demonstrations, meanwhile, remained intense in places like Place of Italy, Ñuñoa Square where the Araucano Parkto the east of Santiago, where thousands of Chileans had come.

With songs from "Oh, oh, oh, Chile woke up, Chile woke up" and at the rate of cacerolazos, the young people passed in front of the palace of La Moneda, at a time when Pineapple He met with political leaders.

Santiago and most of Chile's 16 regions are in a state of emergency and 20,000 military and police contain violent demonstrations.

As violence mounted on the streets, opposition party representatives told the president Sebastian Piñera this dictates the end of the state of emergency and takes the army out of the streets.

The claims were made at a meeting convened by the president to find a way out of the crisis that had erupted more than a week ago.

Party leaders For democracy (PPD), Radical (PR) and Christian Democrat (PDC) They met this afternoon Piñera at the palace of La Moneda with a list of commands, which also requires answers concerning the 15 dead already counted by the revolt.

"The president must end the state of emergency and curfew," said PPD president, former foreign minister Heraldo Munoz.

According to the latest official report, 15 people died in the five days following the social episode, 11 were burned in the middle of vandalism or looting and the other four due to repression by the armed forces or security.

Three of those killed by the crackdown were hit by bullets fired by security guards and another by a navy truck in Talcahuano, a town near Concepción, about 500 km south of the capital, reported the agency EFE.

The riots also left hundreds of injured (at least 88 bullets) and 2,643 detainees.

The wave of violence led the government to first declare the state of emergency throughout the country, then the curfew in several cities, in a context in which Piñera ended up saying that Chile was "at war with a powerful and implacable enemy" whose origin and objectives it has not identified.