Chile militarizes to stop violence

• Chile: Night of chaos, violence and death in a convulsed Chile
• Revueltas.The discontent spreads in Chile with President Piñera on the defensive

The growing military and police deployment throughout the country is not enough to hide something that amazes: Chile is out of control, with an explosion of violence and public disobedience unprecedented in the almost 30 years of life that the current democratic stage is leading . After two nights of curfew, the country continues to shake in the bewilderment of many. How do we get to this? They ask. And to that question add another: what will life on a city ravaged by violence and fear be like today ?

"It is impossible for it to be a normal day," said Santiago Metropolitan Mayor Karla Rubilar, the clearest and most empathetic voice in these days of confusion that offers nervous ministers and journalists who make self-criticism live , apologizing for their insensitivity in the past . "We ask for understanding, solidarity. If you get out in a car and can take a neighbor, take it. We ask employers to understand that we need to be together to get Santiago and Chile forward. Many workers will not be able to arrive on time, we need employers to understand it . And if they can get them transport, they put them in, "Rubilar said.

The doubts about what Monday Chileans will live when they intend to return to their jobs and studies are pure logic after a weekend for the black history of a country of particularly hard history. According to the government, Saturday night left three dead, 15 civilians injured, 103 "serious violence events" across the country , 716 people arrested and 61 police officers (militarized police) injured. They were, despite the curfew between ten o'clock at night and seven o'clock in the morning, hours of violence in the country that for years has been designated as the healthiest and most vibrant economy in Latin America. President Sebastián Piñera spoke of "oasis" days ago. The reality is very different today.

"This was ours! How are we going to recover it? I used it every day to go to work at Las Condes ...". The woman cries and cries at the San Pablo metro station, a popular area of ​​Santiago that offers the postcard of a war zone. Burned ticket machines, unused windlass and subway cars on fire . There is debris and ashes everywhere, but there are also neighbors who spontaneously begin cleaning and curious work that take photos of that station that will not connect with Las Condes for a long time, one of the richest neighborhoods in the capital. How will the woman who cries to go to work ? A CNN Chile journalist comments on the images and offers one of the most successful comments of the day: "The subway was one of the few symbols that moderated segregation and distances in this uneven city."

Far from San Pablo, in another popular neighborhood, La Florida, the story is different, but just as shocking: a group of people warn the carabineros that some streets beyond are looting. Once the security forces run in that direction and move away , those same people start looting. In another neighborhood, San Bernardo, looting to a supermarket is massive.

It would be nevertheless myopic to focus only on the acts of violence. The popular manifestation in Chile is massive and transversal, it involves all ages and already covers practically the entire country, an extensive and narrow strip compressed between the Andes mountain range and the Pacific Ocean, between Antarctica and the Tropic of Capricorn. The Piñera government, which was slow to react, insists strongly on highlighting the striking violence, but so far it has not offered a comprehensive proposal to unite the country and meet social demands . And peaceful protesters find themselves over and over again with an excessive reaction in the form of water jets and tear gas fired by security forces. How to calm Chile? Some of that should begin to take shape from the meeting of the three powers of the State that on Sunday afternoon hosted the National Congress in Valparaíso, a city in which the situation was especially violent over the weekend.

Gloria Hutt, the Minister of Transportation, found it difficult to bring peace of mind to citizens who wonder how to go to work or study in a city with its semi-destroyed public transport network: "We need to increase the speed and capacity of the routes normal, but the alteration is significant, bus drivers also find it difficult to reach the terminals, we also have problems with that . "

In Pudahuel, Santiago's international airport, the mood was hot. More than 90 canceled flights, you wait forever to board or just have information, people desperate because they lose their turn for an operation or find no way to return to their homes.

The resumption of classes was also a cause for confusion, because the decision was left to each mayor of the metropolitan area, but the fragile security situation and transportation difficulties suggest that most children and students will stay in their houses. Everything is uncertain after a weekend that (remains to be seen) can change many things in Chile.

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