Page 12 - AT

A12 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 30 OctOber 2019
Chileans reject president's concessions, plan new protests

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN constitution, of eventually
EVA VERGARA creating a new constitu-
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — tion, is getting ever stron-
Chileans gathered Tuesday ger, and that's legitimate
for a 12th day of demon- and must be discussed,"
strations that began with said Congressman Mario
youth protests over a sub- Desborde, president of the
way fare hike and have be- National Renovation par-
come a leaderless national ty. "If the constitution must
movement demanding be changed, it must be
greater equality and better changed. ... I don't fear de-
public services in a country mocracy in the slightest."
long seen as an economic Six opposition parties con-
success story. trol the House and Senate
Hundreds of protesters and favor changing the
marched in central San- constitution but don't have
tiago by early afternoon, enough votes between
including kindergarten them to do that, making
teachers and health-care support from governing
workers demanding more parties essential.
resources and better con- The opposition parties were
ditions at work. Thousands holding meetings Tuesday
more were expected to A masked anti-government protester stands by a burning barricade in Santiago, Chile, Monday, to begin moving forward
press their call for changes Oct. 28, 2019. on constitutional reform.
to a market-dominant so- Associated Press From afar, Chile has been
cio-economic model that a regional success story:
has fully or partially priva- 1% of the population earns "His proposals are a joke; has included the arson of a Under democratically
tized pensions, health and 33 percent of the nation's they're not really the so- building in central Santiago elected presidents on the
education. wealth, making Chile the lutions that the people Monday night, along with left and right, a free-mar-
Some demonstrators are most unequal country in want," said Lindsay Silva, a scattered breaking of win- ket consensus has driven
angry about the retire- the Organization for Eco- 24-year-old student work- dows and setting of fires in growth up, poverty down
ment system, which forces nomic Cooperation and ing on a degree in physi- surrounding streets. and won Chile the region's
Chileans to hand over 10 Development group of cal therapy and health at Many protesters want a highest score on the United
percent of their income wealthy nations. the University of Santiago. new constitution to replace Nations Human Develop-
to private fund managers Virtually none have been "Inequality affects me ev- the one that was written in ment Index, a blend of life
and then receive pensions satisfied by President Se- ery day because my family 1980 under military dicta- expectancy, education
that barely cover a third of bastián Piñera's response can't pay its bills and has to tor Augusto Pinochet and and national income per
most people's monthly ex- to the protests, which in- make big sacrifices in order that creates the legal ba- capita.
penses. Others fume about cludes replacing eight min- for me to have opportuni- sis of Chile's market-driven In 2010, Chile became the
a public health system that isters, calling for national ties." system. That idea began to second Latin nation in the
makes many wait months dialogue, offering small Alongside mainstream pro- gain momentum Tuesday OECD, after Mexico. Next
for an appointment with a increases in the minimum testers, groups of young when the leader of one of month, Piñera will host the
specialist, or seek expen- wage and the lowest pen- people have been attack- the three parties that sup- Asia-Pacific Economic Co-
sive private care. Still others sions, higher taxes on the ing shops and subway sta- ports Piñera in congress operation forum, followed
resent university loans that wealthy and decreases in tions, saying only violence came out in favor of re- by the 25th United Nations
they are still paying into the prices of medicine and will force government con- forming the constitution. Climate Change Confer-
their '40s and '50s, even as electricity. cessions. The vandalism "The idea of changing the ence in December.q

Lawyer blasts charges in toddler's cruise ship death

Associated Press woman for Puerto Rico's jus- grandfather to lift her up so
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) tice department said Tues- she could bang on the glass
— An attorney for the Indi- day. He is due to appear in in a children's play area.
ana family of an 18-month- court there on Nov. 20, and He's blamed the cruise ship
old girl who fell to her death it wasn't immediately clear operator for leaving the
from a cruise ship in July if he would be allowed to window open.
said Puerto Rican prosecu- return home in the mean- "These criminal charges are
tors' decision to charge her time.Attorney Michael Win- pouring salt on the open
grandfather with negligent kleman said in a statement wounds of this grieving fam-
homicide is "pouring salt" that the child's death was ily. Clearly this was a tragic
on the family's wounds. "a tragic accident," and accident and the family's
A judge in Puerto Rico or- that the family, who is from singular goal remains for
dered the arrest of Salva- the northern Indiana com- something like this to never
tore Anello on Monday This May 11, 2006 file photo shows the Freedom of the Seas munity of Granger, will be happen again," Winkleman
after prosecutors submit- cruise ship docked in Bayonne, N.J. filing a lawsuit against Roy- said in his news release.
ted evidence saying that Associated Press al Caribbean "very soon." "Had the cruise lines sim-
Chloe Wiegand fell from Winkleman has said that ply followed proper safety
Royal Caribbean's Free- an open window on the custody in the Puerto Rican Chloe fell through an open guidelines for windows, this
dom of the Seas cruise ship docked ship. capital of San Juan on an 11th-story window on July accident likely would never
when Anello raised her to Anello was released from $80,000 bond, a spokes- 7 after she had asked her have happened."q