Pinera calls for peace as Santiago rocked by riots

Bloomberg

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera called for a national agreement on peace and a new constitution as security forces struggled to control riots across central Santiago.
Speaking from the presidential palace, close to the disturbances, Pinera asked political forces and social organisations to unite around peace and social justice.
“This situation needs to end and it needs to end now,” Pinera said. It “is damaging the rule of law, the rights and freedoms of everyone and especially of those most vulnerable and of our middle class.”
In the hours before he spoke, rumours swirled that he may announce a new state of emergency and call the army back onto the streets to restore order after almost four weeks of often violent protests. As it was, he merely called on former policemen to return to the force and asked for agreements with the opposition.
During the disturbances in Santiago, a historic church went up in flames, a hotel was looted and burnt and the Argentine embassy attacked in some of the worst rioting Chile has seen since a wave
of civil unrest erupted on October 18. At times, swathes of the centre appeared to have been abandoned to the protesters.
The incidents follow a day of protests across the country, some of which ended in looting and arson attacks. The peso tumbled as much as 5%, closing at a fresh record low while the stock market slid another 4% to the lowest in more than two years.
Shops and supermarkets in the northern city of Antofagasta were looted as a mob took over the streets of Chile’s so-called mining capital.