Crisis in Chile: confirms that there are at least 15 dead following protests

The Chilean government has announced that there are 15 dead in the middle of the serious disturbances that shake the country since Friday after an increase in the price of the metro. The forced social epidemic Sebastian Piñera Decree "state of emergency".

"To date, we have 15 dead in the country, including eleven in the metropolitan area (…) associated with fires and looting, mainly in shopping centers," said the president. Under Secretary of the InteriorRodrigo Ubilla

Looting and attacks on public buildings

Of the cases that occurred outside the capital, three were for bullet hole, he said. In addition, there were 77 more or less serious injuries on Monday.

Ubilla said that in the metropolitan area, serious acts of violence have decreased but have "changed the focus" of the incidents, with attacks on municipalities and police stations.

"Across the country, we organized 42 marches, involving approximately 130,000 people. the vast majority was peaceful"He insisted that" the armed forces and the police are not out of date ".

The metro rise, trigger of other claims

The increase in the price of the Santiago metro triggered a wave of protests that, over the days, have sparked the citizens' interest in high rates that pay for other servicesthe null distribution of the pension system or deficient public health services. The social epidemic is unprecedented in the country's recent history and has led the government to enact a curfew in capital.

After decreeing that the country was "at war", Piñera suspended the increase of the metro and tried to open a political dialogue. This Tuesday, he will meet the leaders of the various political parties in search of a "social agreement".

We will "explore and, hopefully, move towards a social agreement that allows us all to come together quickly, efficiently and responsibly to find better solutions to the problems that affect Chileans," he said on Monday. .

Santiago and most of Chile's 16 regions are in a state of emergency and 10,000 military and police are organizing violent demonstrations that could escalate, such as the Unitary Workers' Union (CUT), Chile's most powerful trade union, and 18 other organizations. social they called strikes and mobilizations for Wednesday and Thursday in Santiago.