Chile

7 December 2019; AFP: Protesters clashed with police as thousands took to the streets of Chile's capital Friday for a demonstration that marked 50 days since the outbreak of the country's worst civil unrest in decades.

Furious Chileans have for weeks been protesting social and economic inequality, and against an entrenched political elite that comes from a small number of the wealthiest families in the country, among other issues.

SANTIAGO, Dec 3 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — Many Chileans are wondering just how much further Chilean President Sebastian Piñera’s popularity can fall, after polls revealed the lowest approval ratings for a president since the country’s return to democracy.

27 November 2019; AFP: Chile's national police committed "serious human rights violations" as weeks of violent demonstrations across the South American country claimed 25 lives, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday in a report calling for reform of the force.

HRW said the police, known as Carabineros, "committed serious human rights violations, including excessive use of force in the streets and abuses in detention," during the protests.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A month of intense protests against inequality and police repression in Santiago have transformed the Chilean capital’s streetscape into a caterwaul of graffiti whose messages reflect the deep discontent in this once genteel Latin American city.

The warm, dry air typical of springtime now bears the lingering sting of teargas, and shops and office blocks have become fortresses, adorned with metal curtains to protect them from demonstrators’ stones or Molotov cocktails.

18 November 2019; AFP: President Sebastian Pinera condemned on Sunday for the first time what he called abuses committed by police in dealing with four weeks of violent unrest that have rocked Chile.

"There was excessive use of force. Abuses and crimes were committed, and the rights of all were not respected," the president said in a speech to the nation as it marked a month of turmoil that has left 22 people dead and more than 2,000 injured.

15 November 2019; AFP: Chile announced Friday it will stage a referendum to replace the country's dictatorship-era constitution -- a key demand of protesters after nearly a month of sometimes violent civil unrest.

The current charter, in force since 1980 and enacted by the former military junta of Augusto Pinochet, has been changed numerous times in the years since.

SANTIAGO, Nov 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Violent protests broke out in Chile’s capital Santiago as the country’s currency dropped to a historic low after weeks of mass street demonstrations that have left the South American country in crisis.

Clashes broke out between protesters demanding the resignation of President Sebastian Pinera and security forces close to the presidential palace.

Some 80,000 people took to the streets of Santiago as 100 organisations called a general strike.

7 November 2019; AFP: Demonstrations in Chile against the government of President Sebastian Pinera spread into Santiago's wealthiest neighborhoods Wednesday, tainting previously untouched enclaves with violence amid the country's deadly protests.

2 November 2019; AFP: Dressed in black, marching silently and raising one fist, around a thousand women on Friday demanded justice for those killed and injured during the last two weeks of social unrest in Chile.

Their march started off a day of demonstrations on a long weekend in the country, expanding later as tens of thousands answered social media calls to match last Friday's huge protest that attracted more than a million people.

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Thousands of young Chileans marched Thursday to demand improved social services as government and opposition leaders debated the response to nearly two weeks of protests that have paralyzed much of the capital and forced the cancellation of two major international summits.