Marking a year since protests and riots broke out in the Chilean capital of Santiago, rioters on Oct. 18 set fire to two of the city’s churches and damaged other areas of the city, while tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators marched to a central Santiago square to protest growing economic inequality in the country.
Mass protests and riots were sparked on Oct. 18 last year when commuters reacted to an increase in train fares, which the government quickly reversed. But the protests, estimated to be attended by around 1 million people, then expanded into wider calls for action on low wages, income disparity, and increasing living costs facing many Chileans, which some analysts say are the result of the country’s aggressive climate policies adopted under former Socialist Party President Michelle Bachelet, which raised energy and transport costs and reduced household disposable income, impacting low-income households the most.
