“Resign, Piñera!”, Chile in the midst of a pandemic involved in a day of general strike

Thousands of workers in the private and state sector, as well as academic, peasant and human rights organizations, held a general strike in Chile on Friday to repudiate the government and demand the resignation of President Sebastián Piñera, who, less than a year after finishing his leadership, registers a popularity of only 9.0%.

#StrikeGeneralSanitary | Government response to workers, arrest our leaders @EricCamposBonta, @Juan_Moreno_SIL, Paula Rivas (@PrivasV) and health officials 📢 Enough repression! May the workers not continue to pay for the crisis! pic.twitter.com/teJkjxuXxw

– CUT Chile (@Cutchile) April 30, 2021

The claims against him are multiple, from the management of the health crisis which today, despite the successful vaccination campaign of the South American country, is going through its most critical moment with a curfew, restrictions and a record of infections and death, to their resistance. the third withdrawal of pension funds approved by Congress, so that citizens have the necessary resources to deal with the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

“Chile is now experiencing a deep political, institutional, economic and social crisis. Crisis also expressed by the parties that support the government, by an infamous and indolent president,” said the manifesto published by the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT ) and signed percentage of regroupings.

The text maintains that Piñera “governs for a privileged few who get richer and richer and who refuse to pay taxes on their wealth and a real progressive tax reform”, while the great majority of Chileans remain “in debt and without solutions. the economic and social sphere “.

Likewise, he regrets that workers are paying for the pandemic crisis by resorting to savings intended for their retirement, for which they consider an emergency basic income urgently. In this sense, they emphasize: “We are not subjects of charity, we are subjects of rights … this illegitimate government is disconnected from the needs and problems of citizenship”.

In its manifesto, the CUT also called for the application of policies with a gender perspective, effective responses to the increase in domestic violence, economic protection for caregivers and replacement of reproductive and sexual health care.

Yesterday # 30deAbril in the anteroom of #International Workers’ Day We are mobilizing for social justice and against the indolent government of # SebastianPiñera. We demand dignity! #RentaBasicaUniversal #SuperRichTax. Do not abandon! # 1demayo2021#StrikeGeneralSanitary pic.twitter.com/puZXf1hwcc

– Alejandra Placencia Cabello (@AlePlacenciaC) May 1, 2021

“We demand an end to the workload and mistreatment of education workers and the public health resources with which to deal with the pandemic and meet the needs of those responsible, the first line of care for the disease. pandemic “, they add. (N / A)