From our stand point here in Santiago de Chile the country is pretty much back to normal. Only is a few outlying suburbs of Santiago are there small pockets of vandalism by unruly youths and even this does not make the news any more.

Chile Situation

Here is our latest update of the situation in Chile from our unique standpoint of actually being based in Santiago de Chile.

The general trend has been that the overall situation of demonstrations, and violent demonstrations has calmed down a lot. Every now and then there is a small "out break" of localised vandalism in the poorer areas of some cities, but that is about it.

There could be a general strike this week and if that goes ahead then there could be some vandalism against the authorities.

From our vantage point of being based here in Chile, in Santiago and Patagonia, we can tell you that this past weekend was very quiet. There were no demonstrations or violent protests. The government announced that it will offer the people of Chile a referendum to vote on if they want a new constitution or not, with a view to a new constitution eventually being drawn up. All the political parties were in agreement, which was a milestone in Chilean politics.

From our vantage point here in Santiago we can pass to you the reality of what is happening in Chile with a view to informing you correctly about what is what.

The situation continues to be one of "back to normal" during the day, but late afternoon and evening in down-town Santiago a large group of youths gather and generally walk around the street in an area called "Plaza Italia".

During today, Monday, in the afternoon and into evening there were mixed groups of young people out in public areas in central Santiago. These groups appear to be a mix of peaceful protesters and then smaller, unruly "anarchic" groups of mainly young men hell bent on fighting with the police. Very much the same genre as the "anti capitalist" groups who violently attack the authorities in Western capitals every now and then.

The latest on the recent demonstrations in Santiago and Chile is that everything has calmed down. There may well be isolated incidents of small groups that still try to damage property in places like central Santiago at night, but these are now isolated and few. Hotels in the areas of Santiago such as Providencia, Las Condes and Vitacura are operating in the normal way.
Transport and everyday life is back to its normal routine, albeit some metro stations are closed because they need to be repaired.

Last evening there was a huge, peaceful protest of middle class families with children in the streets of Santiago. Official figures say there were over 1.2m people. The atmosphere was friendly, jovial and carnival like. The same scene played out in many other cities in Chile. No violent protest at all.

The "people's uprising" against the high cost of living that began last Friday 18 October and reverberated throughout the country has evolved into, mainly, peaceful demonstrations that take place in the evening. These gatherings have taken on a "carnival" atmosphere and attended even by families.

Central Santiago and some other cities in Chile are experiencing violent demonstrations against recent price hikes in the Santiago Metro system. Although the civil unrest was sparked by the price rise of metro tickets these actions involve a frustrated lower-income group of Chilean society that has been building up over a number of years.