Protests Continue in Chile After Replacement of Cabinet

 

For two weeks, hundreds of thousands of people have been demonstrating in Chile’s capital, Santiago.

Fresh demonstrations¹ and attacks on businesses were reported Monday. Thousands of protesters crowded into central Santiago. One group set fire to a building that houses a fast-food restaurant and stores.

President Sebastián Pi?era has tried to show Chileans that he is listening to protesters’ calls for greater equality and improved social services. Since the unrest began, Pi?era has replaced eight Cabinet ministers with ministers whose politics are said to be more centrist.

Also on Monday, looters attacked a drug store, and there was an attempt to set a train station on fire. Hundreds of thousands of people tried to get home from work on free buses that officials sent to replace trains. The trains have been out of service because of attacks on train stations over the past week.

Santiago has the most modern public transportation system in Latin America.

Cabinet changes

Pi?era has replaced the heads of the interior, treasury², economy, labor³ and four other ministries⁴ with generally younger officials. Political observers say the appointees are thought to be more centrist and accessible.

“Chile has changed and the government must change,” Chile’s president said.

By Monday, the government had announced no policies to answer the protests over poor social services and the high cost of living.

“A new Cabinet isn’t enough. We need real changes in healthcare, education, pensions,” said 34-year-old Omar Soto. He operates a mobile phone business.

Almost all of the protesters say they are angry with what they call the neoliberalism that has left Chile with poor public services. These include the private pension system and health and education systems that are a mix of public and private, with better results only for those who have money for the high costs.

Many Chileans talk of waiting a year for an appointment with a medical specialist, or families receiving calls to get appointments for loved ones who died months earlier. Hundreds of thousands of people are struggling with educational loans that can follow them into their 40s and even 50s.

“Last Friday we had a peaceful protest and, being peaceful, they didn’t listen to us,” said a protester named Sebastián. “You have to get their attention somehow.” Sebastián is a 25-year-old welder⁵ who did not give his last name, saying he feared authorities.

The government answered the demonstrations and looting with a military operation that has left more than 1,000 people hurt. Some were partially⁶ blinded by police or soldiers’ gunshot pellets. That information comes from the National Human Rights Institute and the Chilean College of Medicine.

At least 20 people have died as a result of the 11 days of violence. But it is unclear how many were killed by police and how many by looters.

On Monday, the U.N. High Commissioner⁷ on Human Rights, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, sent a delegation⁸ to Chile to investigate. Amnesty International also sent a team.

From overseas, Chile is seen as a Latin American success story. It has had democratically elected presidents. Its economy has grown. Poverty is down. And Chile won Latin America’s highest score on the United Nations Human Development Index, or HDI. The HDI compares life expectancy⁹ rates, education and national income per person.

In 2010, Chile became the second Latin member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, after Mexico.

Yet, a 2017 United Nations report found that the richest one percent of Chile’s population earns 33 percent of the nation’s wealth. That helps make Chile the most unequal country in the OECD, slightly worse than Mexico.

Pi?era himself is a billionaire, one of Chile’s richest men.

Comparably, a 2017 study showed that the richest one percent in the United States owned 40% of the nation's wealth.

I’m John Russell. And I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

looter – n. a person who steals things from a place (such as a store or house) after destruction has been caused by fire, rioting or something else

accessible – adj. easy to speak to or deal with

pension – n. an amount of money that a company or the government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works

neoliberalism – n. generally defined as an economic system that favors policies of free-market capitalism¹⁰

pellet – n. a small metal object that is shot from a gun

score – n. the number of points received in a ranking system

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

5 welder   

n电焊工

参考例句：

• He left school at 15 to become an apprentice to a welder.他15岁离开了中学成为一个焊接工人的学徒。
• Welder done at least once a month when the dust handling.焊机时每月至少做一次除尘处理。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

9 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

10 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。