Protests take over capitals of Chile, Lebanon

(Image credit: ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images))

published 19 October 2019

Protests have rocked both Chile and Lebanon this weekend.

A state of emergency has been declared in Santiago, the Chilean capital, after protests stemming from a hike in public transportation fares became violent Friday evening — the state of emergency is a result of Chile's dictatorship-era constitution and can last for 15 days. Soldiers reportedly returned to Santiago's streets Saturday for the first time since a devastating earthquake hit the country in 2010, The Guardian reports. There reportedly is no curfew at the moment, though the government does have the power to implement one.

Police have reportedly detained more than 300 people, while 156 officers have been injured, 49 police cars have been damaged, and 41 metro stations have been damaged, as the entire transport system was temporarily shut down. "We are assuming control, deploying our forces in a way that we can prevent continuing acts of vandalism and having a better sense in the morning of what is happening," Javier Iturriaga del Campo, a Chilean general said.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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