Thousands of left-wing protesters gathered last night in the capital of Chile. The clashes with the police took place at Plaza Italia and were lead primarily by students. The protests against conservative President Sebastian Piñera and his government started in October last year over price increases on public transport.
Since October, Chile has been overwhelmed by protests against social inequalities. The pretext for their launch was the raise of prices of metro tickets. Later the protesters expanded their demands to include pension increases and improvements in the health and education system.
Street clashes continued on March 2 in the Chilean capital of Santiago. The protesters confronted the security forces during anti-government protests. The police used water cannons to disperse the crowds.
On December 23, the Chilean President Sebastián Piñera ordered a referendum to be held in order to give a mandate to work on a new constitution. The protesters accuse those in power of being slow to respond to their demands.
Over the last four and half months, thousands of protesters have been injured or arrested. Police and military intervention, as well as arson and random incidents of hooliganism have resulted in more than 30 deaths.