'It's something that's never happened before' -massive marches take over Santiago streets
Record ID:
1438639
'It's something that's never happened before' -massive marches take over Santiago streets
- Title: 'It's something that's never happened before' -massive marches take over Santiago streets
- Date: 25th October 2019
- Summary: SANTIAGO, CHILE (OCTOBER 25, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS, TOP VIEW OF MARCHERS WALKING DOWN LARGE STREET VARIOUS, MARCHERS WALKING DOWN STREET PERSON BANGING ON PAN, MARCHING WITH CROWD CHILEAN FLAG WAVING / MARCHERS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MARCH PARTICIPANT, LUKAS GANZON, SAYING: "(The march is) impressive, lots of people. I think we all knew there would be a lot of people, but I don't think anyone thought it would be so many. A friend tells me that the crowd is still marching from the central station towards Plaza Italia, so the politicians are a little sorry. They don't know what to do with us." MARCHER CARRYING FLAG WITH IMAGE OF FORMER CHILEAN PRESIDENT, SALVADOR ALLENDE, WHO WAS KILLED IN THE 1973 COUP PERSON WEARING MASK / CROWD OF MARCHERS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MARCH PARTICIPANT, CAROLINA CISTERNA, SAYING: "It's really nostalgic I think, it makes you mad, afraid, sorry. All your emotions are mixed because it's something that's never happened before, and finally happened and I hope that we get to something that's good for all of us. In the end we're all fighting for the same thing." MARCHERS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MARCH PARTICIPANT, FRANCO RAMOS, SAYING: "I'm proud that everyone finally realized that the people above us governing are all a monopoly and that there is no justice for people in any sense. There is discrimination from the poorest to the richest. And, the truth is I'm very happy because everyone realized this. I've always been waiting for a moment like this in my life." VARIOUS, TOP VIEW MARCHERS WALKING DOWN LARGE STREET
- Embargoed: 8th November 2019 23:17
- Keywords: streets crowds Chilean President Sebastian Pinera large protests march Chile massive Santiago
- Location: SANTIAGO, CHILE
- City: SANTIAGO, CHILE
- Country: Chile
- Topics: Government/Politics,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2LKH1J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Chileans marked a week since violent unrest caused chaos across the country by coming together in the hundreds of thousands in the centre of Santiago and across the country on Friday (October 25), in the biggest protests yet against entrenched inequality in the Latin nation.
Columns of demonstrators waving national flags, blowing whistles and horns, wafting incense and bearing placards urging political and social change streamed through the streets, walking for miles from around the city to converge on Plaza Italia.
Traffic already hobbled by truck and taxi drivers adding their own protest over road tolls to the ongoing demonstrations ground to a standstill as roads were closed and public transport closed up early ahead of the marches that built throughout the afternoon.
Police put the number of protesters in Santiago by 6 pm (2100 GMT) at 250,000.
The protests are still without a leader, spokesperson or political party. Students and unions organizing on social media touted plans to launch "The Largest March in Chile" on Friday, with rallies expected to paralyze major cities.
Protests that started over a hike in public transport fares boiled into riots, arson and looting that have killed at least 17 people, injured hundreds, brought more than 7,000 arrests and caused more than $1.4 billion of losses to Chilean businesses.
Chile's unrest is the latest in a flare-up of protests in South America and round the world - from Beirut to Barcelona - each with local triggers but also sharing underlying anger at social disparities and ruling elites.
(Production: Jorge Vega) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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