Possible Color Revolution Beginning in Chile

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Chile shuts down capital city metro as violent protests spread

A demonstrator protests against the increase in the subway ticket prices in Santiago, Chile, October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Vera NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
October 18, 2019 - Chilean officials shut down the metro system in Santiago on Friday after demonstrators protesting recent fare hikes took to the streets and attacked subway stops, leaving widespread damage across the capital city of nearly 6 million people.

Black-hooded protesters lit fires at the entrances to several stations, burned a public bus and swung metal pipes at train station turnstiles during the Friday afternoon commute, according to witnesses, social media and television footage.

Thousands more joined after nightfall, clanging pots and blocking traffic in the normally subdued South American capital.

Metro officials said the system would remain closed through the weekend, citing “serious destruction” that made it impossible to operate trains safely.

“It is one thing to demonstrate and another to commit the vandalism we have observed,” President Sebastian Pinera told national radio station Radio Agricultural earlier in the day. “This is not protest, it is crime.”

High school and university students began the protest after the government hiked fares on Oct. 6 by as much as $1.17 for a peak metro ride, blaming higher energy costs and a weaker peso.

The unrest underscores sharp divisions in Chile, one of Latin America’s wealthiest nations but also one of its most unequal. Frustrations over the high cost of living in Santiago have become a political flashpoint, prompting calls for reforms to everything from the country’s tax and labor codes to its pension system.

Metro management said there had been more than 200 incidents on Santiago’s subway system in the previous 11 days, mostly involving school children and older students jumping barriers and forcing gates. Police told Reuters they had to use teargas and batons in extreme cases.

The protests turned increasingly violent on Friday afternoon, however, and by early Friday evening, officials had closed down all of the city’s 136 metro stations, which connect more than 87 miles of track.

Earlier in the day, after a meeting with the metro chief and interior minister, Transport Minister Gloria Hutt told reporters the fare hike would not be reversed. She said the government subsidizes almost half the operating costs of the metro, one of Latin America’s most modern.

“This is not a discussion that should have risen to the level of violence that we’ve seen,” she said.

Support for the center-right Pinera has waned to around 30% in the second year of his term as his government struggles to push reforms through an opposition-led legislature.
 
Remember, the APEC meeting with Putin, XI, Trump is scheduled to occur in Chile next month.

This is very coordinated as there has already has been the simultaneous high-rise fire of the local electric company, torchings of 4 Metro stations in another sector and continued incidents in other parts.

The Monday morning transport situation is trashed.

Martial law for Santiago (the last time was decades ago during Pino time) is probably a done deal.
 
I've saw the vendalism at a close-by metro station, just a mindless orgy of destruction. The groups doing the destruction do not seem to be the usual metro users, who were the most affected as most people had to walk home for long distances. I agree that it is planned and organized, probably as an experiment in social engineering.
 
Fare hike was not even directed at students which remained unchanged for them.

In the previous days, the "students" engaged in mass evasion of paying Metro fares in "protest" of increases that did not affect them.

Apparently finding how weak the ability to control such "protest", today degenerated into total anarchy.

This anarchy in one day has now destroyed the operating infrastructure of the entire Metro system across Santiago for a couple of days or more making Monday morning commute a big question for Santiago-centric Chile.

This "protest" also destroyed or vandalized street lights, street signage, public installations and led to the sacking of many businesses small and large and fires including burning a portion of a high-rise.

This is just Friday night, don't know what happens tomorrow and the next days as all this is obviously very coordinated and planned.
 
In the previous days, the "students" engaged in mass evasion of paying Metro fares in "protest" of increases that did not affect them.

Apparently finding how weak the ability to control such "protest", today degenerated into total anarchy.

That's the gist of it. I think however that the "inability" to control the raids was deliberate. There was an uncanny absence of carabineros today in the streets (exept close to La moneda I would imagine), which is unusual. Also, students are the most most manipulable section of any society and for most of them, raiding metro stations is "fun". But many stations have been vendalised and burned, as well as buses (16 I think, it smells burned plastic right now). State of emergency is basically having the military in the streets for at least two weeks.
 
People lost their minds because of a fare hike??

Sounds like there's more to the story. Has Chile been under unreasonable levels of social and/or economic pressure lately? Or is it just the crazy rays being beamed at the city?

Food, medicine and other basic supplies tend to actually more expensive in Chile than in European countries, however the common wages amount to a handful of peanuts. I.E. to buy bread, meat, a pack of aspirin etc. in Santiago costs the same or more as in London depending on the good, but you're only being paid 1/3rd of the wage or less. On top of that they have had big waves of immigration from Venezuela, Colombia and Caribbean nations (almost all service jobs such as waiters etc. are occupied by Venezuelans, and the public gardening and even "lower" jobs are done by Haitians). During my time there in Santiago at least, aside from a few affluent districts in the city, I found it pretty amazing how people actually managed to survive. There's definitely pressure there.

The Santiago metro system is actually the one thing which is relatively cheap (less than a quarter of the price of say, London or Manchester), so it makes an appropriate flashpoint.

I haven't seen anything indicating that this is a planned color revolution yet. Instead, much like elsewhere around the world, it seems that people are just ready to protest and destroy some stuff.
 
Interesting.

People assume that breakdowns and revolts, etc., will happen according to the same logical rhythm that their various dogmatic arguments run on. In reality, when the fog of war descends, it's for old, lizard brain reasons and proceeds according to old, lizard brain rules. A bunch of kids trashing metro stations with no rational objective. And there are plenty of psychopaths eager to fill the leadership void when things get squirrely.

Launching a revolution is like firing an old blunderbuss and hoping to hit the side of a barn; there's nothing accurate or predictable about it. -Except if your point is just to create chaos, in which case it's mission accomplished.

I think the Far Left's subconscious alien-programmed mission in the West, by acting like such insufferable assholes all the time, is to create precisely the conditions for such a breakdown.
 
People assume that breakdowns and revolts, etc., will happen according to the same logical rhythm that their various dogmatic arguments run on. In reality, when the fog of war descends, it's for old, lizard brain reasons and proceeds according to old, lizard brain rules. A bunch of kids trashing metro stations with no rational objective. And there are plenty of psychopaths eager to fill the leadership void when things get squirrely.

Launching a revolution is like firing an old blunderbuss and hoping to hit the side of a barn; there's nothing accurate or predictable about it. -Except if your point is just to create chaos, in which case it's mission accomplished.

I think the Far Left's subconscious alien-programmed mission in the West, by acting like such insufferable assholes all the time, is to create precisely the conditions for such a breakdown.

Maybe that's why they call it revolution - you just cause a bunch of chaos and end up in the same place!

Anyway it's worth noting that Chile's uni system is pretty much fully controlled by the same ideology that dominates US/Canadian/UK campuses (white guilt, men are suspect/potential rapists, women are always better than men (but trannies/genderqueers are even more holy), all problems are due to the patriarchy and capitalism and homophobia etc.etc.etc.

They certainly won't take any potential revolution in any useful direction!
 
9 am Chile time:

41 Metro stations destroyed.
308 detained.
156 police injured.
11 civilians reportedly injured.

All normal activities permitted, Metro completely shutdown for evaluation today and Sunday except for one small section. Your life sucks if you have to work half-day today (many Chileans work on Saturday), have a medical appointment, etc, and you live kilometros away.

Note on so-called inequality, yes things are comparatively expensive compared to wages but this overlooks the many subsidies to the poor and middle class. Housing, medical, legal, bonus payments throughout the year to different segments when taken all together, the middle class person here is much better off than the average worker in the US. The average working to mid class family owns their own home and has free health care if they stick to the public system and the average household may have 3 or even 4 wage owners under one roof which taken together is not that tight at all.

There were bright moments last night. People helping the fireman with the hoses to put out the high-rise fire and people offering rides to people who could not get back home due to the Metro shutdown and the various chaotic zones.
 
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