1 million Chileans take to streets of Santiago to demand president’s resignation
- Protesters in the South American country are demanding economic reforms as people struggle over spiralling costs of living
- The demonstrations were sparked earlier this month over a hike in public transport fares, which soon boiled into riots, arson and looting
Some 1 million people took to the streets in Chile on Friday for the largest protests in a week of deadly demonstrations demanding economic reforms and the resignation of President Sebastian Pinera.
The leader told the thronging masses that he had “heard the message” in a post on Twitter, characterising the protests in a positive light and as a means towards change.
Protesters waved national flags, danced, banged pots with wooden spoons and held up placards urging political and social change as they streamed through the streets, walking from around Santiago to converge on Plaza Italia.
Traffic, already hobbled by truck and taxi drivers protesting road tolls, ground to a standstill in Santiago as crowds shut down major avenues and public transport closed early ahead of marches that built throughout the afternoon.
By mid-evening, most had made their way home in the dark ahead of an 11pm military curfew.
Santiago Governor Karla Rubilar said a million people marched in the capital – more than 5 per cent of the country’s population. Protesters elsewhere took to the streets in every major Chilean city.