Day of Rage

Labor protests turn violent

It was the worst outbreak of violence Chile had seen since the brutal overthrow of Marxist President Salvador Allende by the military regime of Augusto Pinochet 9 1/2 years ago. It began last Wednesday as a peaceful Day of Protest over the country's desperate economic straits and quickly flared into widespread rioting. Three hundred police and militia fought about 1,500 protesters for control of downtown Santiago. By Thursday authorities had finally restored order, but at a tragic price: two civilians had been killed, 150 protesters were injured and 600 arrested.

Trouble had been brewing for weeks. Earlier this month students and workers led a march in Santiago that erupted into rioting. The powerful 27,000-member National Conference of Copper Workers called for a national strike. Other unions, arguing that there was not adequate organization for the work stoppage, resisted such precipitous action. Instead, the opposing sides called for a boycott of schools and a traffic slowdown.

At first it seemed that restraint might prevail. But when 200 students tried to occupy the library at the University of Chile, in the eastern part of Santiago, 50 police attacked with tear gas, brutally clubbing the protesters for nearly two hours. Then truncheon-wielding guards charged into an overflow crowd of dissident lawyers and students gathered to support the workers; about 15 were injured.

The government tried to blame "the Marxist left and foreign intervention" for the bloodshed. But even well-known supporters of the regime disagreed. The government, declared the respected conservative daily El Mercurio, "should strengthen itself by regaining the confidence of those who, ten years ago, massively demanded the intervention of the armed forces." There was no sign that Pinochet was listening. At week's end Chilean police launched a series of raids in Santiago, arresting about 1,000 people. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.