Chile

• Tuesday, November 19th 2019 - 08:34 UTC

  Chile's GDP expands 3.3% in 3Q, but prospects for 4Q are discouraging

  

  Chile's gross domestic product grew 3.3 percent in the third quarter of 2019 compared with a year earlier, the central bank said on Monday. The market had predicted relatively strong growth during the July through September period, citing improving prospects for the country's all-important mining industry.

• Tuesday, November 19th 2019 - 05:31 UTC

  Walmart had 120 supermarkets burnt and looted in Chile; seeks court order for police protection

  

  Walmart has sought court orders for police protection in protest-wracked Chile after more than 120 of its supermarkets were looted or burned. The Chilean subsidiary of the US-headquartered retailer lodged orders with courts in six Chilean cities, saying the attacks on its stores had put its staff's safety and jobs at risk, “gravely” affected its ability to operate in the country and caused it “enormous economic damage.”

• Saturday, November 16th 2019 - 09:59 UTC

  Chilean parties agree on mechanisms to replace the Pinochet era constitution

  

  Chilean lawmakers agreed on Friday to hold a referendum next April on replacing the country’s unpopular Pinochet-era constitution, bowing to demands of protesters who say the country’s decades-old social model has created deep inequality.

• Friday, November 15th 2019 - 09:58 UTC

  Chile's Thursday demonstrations recalled the anniversary of the death of a Mapuche leader by police

  

  Demonstrators gathered in Chile's public squares on Thursday for another round of protests, which have paralysed daily life for almost a month. This time protests were pegged to the anniversary of a young indigenous man Mapuche, who was shot dead by police in circumstances that are still under investigation. At least 24 people have died and thousands injured in clashes between protesters and police.

• Friday, November 15th 2019 - 09:50 UTC

  New record high for the US dollar in Chilean markets: 820 Pesos

  

  Chile's central bank announced a US$ 4 billion injection to stop a currency slide that saw the peso reach historic lows on successive days this week. The peso fell to 820 to the dollar at the close Thursday, breaking the 800 Pesos milestone.

• Friday, November 15th 2019 - 09:50 UTC

  Tens half blind in Chile as riot police open fire with rubber bullets close range

  

  Running away as shots rang out, Carlos Vivanco turned to see where they were coming from. Then he felt his left eye closing and his face dripping with blood. The 18-year-old student had become one of the scores of people hit in the eyes, and in some cases blinded, by police rubber bullets in Chile's recent wave of anti-government protests.

• Thursday, November 14th 2019 - 08:48 UTC

  Chilean bishops appeal for calm and recall what happens when the breakdown of institutions

  

  In an appeal to the politicians and people of Chile, the Bishops’ Conference reminds them of what history teaches about the breakdown of institutions, urging all men and women of goodwill to put an end to the violence of every kind.

• Wednesday, November 13th 2019 - 09:49 UTC

  Protests continue in Chile as economy faces “grave consequences” and Peso plunges to a historic low

  

  Chile’s finance minister warned on Tuesday of the “grave consequences” for the nation’s economy of three weeks of often violent unrest after the peso slid 4% to hit a historic low against the dollar. Ignacio Briones said the weakening of the peso was a “sign of worry” that he and his colleagues were watching very carefully.

• Saturday, November 9th 2019 - 10:55 UTC

  Chilean popular discontent spills over to the country's elite

  

  Chile's long-untouchable elite is now bearing the brunt of popular anger spilling onto the country's streets, and analysts say the signals have been there for years. Resource-rich Chile has long been seen as a stable democracy with South America's highest per-capita income, but economic and political power has rested in the hands of the relative few

• Saturday, November 9th 2019 - 10:50 UTC

  Huge peaceful demonstration in Santiago, but radicals loot a church and university

  

  Around 75,000 people took to the streets in Santiago on Friday as part of ongoing anti-government protests in Chile. Local press reported the mostly peaceful demonstration as the second-largest since the protests broke out three weeks ago.