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Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Saturday announced a major reshuffle of his government, after a historic demonstration in the country against social inequality.
" I asked all the ministers to resign in order to form a new government and be able to respond to these new demands, " said the head of state in a message to the nation from the presidential palace of La Moneda.
More than a million people marched Friday in Chile to protest the inequities of the Chilean economic model and demand more social justice.
→ A (re) read: Chile: Monster demonstration in Santiago against inequalities
" We are in a new reality. Chile is different from the one we had a week ago, "added the head of state.
This is the third government reshuffle in little more than a year and a half by the Conservative president, who took office in March 2018.
Pinera also announced a lifting of the state of emergency on Sunday if " circumstances permit " to " contribute to the normalization that so many Chileans want and deserve ".
The state of emergency was declared on October 18 following violent riots, the starting point of a wave of social protest unprecedented in this country of 18 million inhabitants, known in Latin America for its political stability and economic.
The measure, much criticized by the demonstrators, had allowed the deployment of thousands of soldiers on the streets of the capital and several regions of the country to ensure public order - a first since the end of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973 -1990).
The army also announced Saturday the suspension of curfew in force in the capital for a week. " It has been assessed that the current conditions allow us to decide that there will be no curfew in the RM (metropolitan area) from now on, " the military said in a statement.
The detonator of this unprecedented social movement was the increase of more than 3% in the price of the metro ticket. Despite the suspension of the measure, social anger has not subsided.
(With AFP)