A general strike went ahead in Chile, despite President Sebastian Pinera announcing a social reforms package aimed at quelling the protests. Students, copper workers, teachers and healthcare workers joined the march.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/M. Emin Canik
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Tens of thousands of Chileans marched in Santiago, the capital city, as well as elsewhere in the country on Wednesday.
Students and trade union leaders headed the demonstration, which took place even though President Sebastian Pinera announced a series of social reforms in a bid to quell days of violent protests. Protesters waved banners and national flags and shouted "Chile has woken up."
Tens of thousands gathered in Chile's capital to protest the state's economic modelImage: Reuters/I. Alvarado
The first day of the two-day general strike was largely peaceful.
Some protesters erected flaming barricades and clashed with riot police. Police deployed water cannon and fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the protesters.
Two supermarkets were set on fire in the north of Chile, and a hotel was looted near Italia square in Santiago, broadcaster 24 Horas reported.
The general strike in Santiago was largely peaceful, but protesters set a supermarket on fire in Antofagasta Image: Imago Images/Aton Chile/C. Rudolffi
Codelco, the Chilean state mining company, had to shut one mine and drastically reduce operations at a smelter, after workers joined the strike. Six of Codelco's eight divisions were carrying on with the "majority of their operations," the company said in a statement.
The Copper Workers Federation (FTC), which unionizes workers from Codelco, announced late on Tuesday that its workers would join the strike.
Police used a water cannon and fired rubber bullets at Chileans participating in the general strikeImage: Reuters/I. Alvarado
Later on Wednesday the FTC trade union called off the strike. They agreed to meet with government officials to improve workers conditions.
On Tuesday the FTC and the National Grouping of Fiscal Employees, among other unions, had continued to back the strike, even after Pinera had announced a social reform package.
The trade unionists who called the two-day strike initially wanted Pinera to discuss the proposed social reforms with grassroots organizations and for him to remove soldiers from the streets.
Reforms announced by Pinera on Tuesday include an increase in the monthly pension, raising the minimum wage and canceling a 92% rise in electricity rates due to take effect next month.
Protests on Wednesday divided the public opinionImage: AFP/P. Vera
Reform package and strike divide opinions
Chileans responded differently to Pinera's reform package. Some thought that they were not good enough, but others thought that they were a move in the right direction.
Venezuela's socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, on Wednesday celebrated the strikes in Chile, saying that they represented a victory in a battle "to dismantle the neoliberal model."
Pope Francis, an Argentinian, expressed concern over the protest and urged for dialogue.
The demonstrations began after students protested the government's decision to increase subway fares in the capital.
The fare hike was canceled, but Chileans continued protesting widespread inequality across the country.
Chile's deadly protests — in pictures
Anti-government protests, that have seen several deaths, are now entering a third week, with little sign of easing up. Civilians clashed with police, looted stores and endured an earthquake at the close of a huge rally.
Image: Reuters/J. Silva
Violent reaction
Protesters seek cover from riot police wielding a baton. The latest protest followed a short break in the wave of demonstrations in which several people have died, forcing the cancellation of two upcoming international summits.
Image: Reuters/J. Silva
Third week of protests
In this image, a man is dressed as the the movie character "The Joker" while brandishing a Mapuche indigenous flag. Many Chileans were on a long holiday weekend and the latest protest was relatively small compared to previous efforts.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Felix
Women join forces for peaceful march
Dressed in black, marching silently and raising one fist, around a thousand women have demanded justice for those killed during the civil unrest in Chile. Their march started off a day of demonstrations on a long weekend in the Latin American country, expanding later as tens of thousands answered social media calls to match previous protests that attracted more than a million people.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Agencia Uno
A national protest
The sight of soldiers on the streets is unsettling for many citizens of a country still haunted by memories of military rule under dictator Augusto Pinochet. Armored personnel carriers drove slowly through the streets deploying heavily-armed troops as violence worsened in the capital, Santiago, and across the country. Here, one demonstrator waves a Chilean flag as the troops spread out.
Image: Reuters/I. Alvarado
Hundreds of arrests
Although Chile is one of South America's wealthiest economies, resentment has been rising over increased living costs and the shortcomings of public services. With Santiago engulfed in rioting over several days, security forces and protesters clashed repeatedly.
Image: AFP/M. Bernetti
Widening wealth gap
The protests began over a planned hike in transport fares last week, but have turned into a movement against Chile's economic model of creeping privatization, low wages and growing inequality.
Image: AFP/M. Bernetti
State of emergency
Metro stations, buses and businesses were set ablaze as the protests began to turn violent. Soldiers were deployed on the capital's streets for the first time since the military dictatorship ended in 1990, and a state of emergency was imposed. Curfews were also put in place in several other Chilean cities.
Image: Imago-Images/Aton Chile/S. Cisternas
Cloud of violence
Although President Sebastian Pinera canceled the planned hike in subway fares, the violence has only worsened, leading to nearly a dozen deaths. Tear gas has been used against the protesters, and the army confirmed it had shot people dead while chasing looters. Meanwhile, at least three people died when supermarkets were set on fire.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Felix
Asking for the impossible?
This demonstrator is holding a sign that reads "Let's be realistic, let's ask for the impossible." After meeting with heads of the legislature and judicial system, President Pinera has pledged to seek "solutions" to "reduce excessive inequalities" in the country. Protesters, however, don't appear to placated.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Vera
Military advance
A demonstrator gestures as Chilean soldiers advance carrying their weapons, during a protest against the country's state economic model in Santiago. According to the Gini index, the most widely used international measure of inequality - for which the higher the number, the greater the inequality - Chile ranks as the most unequal country among a group of 30 of the world's wealthiest nations.
