It is not poverty that is driving Chile's middle class into the streets to join massive protests: it is debt, brought on by sky-high private health and education costs that have created an economic fragility many find unbearable.
Spain will host the COP25 climate summit in December, the UN said on Friday, after Chile abandoned plans to hold it due to deadly anti-government protests. Some 25,000 delegates had been expected in Chile for COP25, including teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
As many as a million Chileans protested peacefully late into the evening on Friday in the capital Santiago in the biggest rallies yet since violence broke out a week ago over entrenched inequality in the South American nation.
Bolivia's opposition launched a general strike on Wednesday amid protests and disturbances over disputed election results that pointed to another term for President Evo Morales, who likened the unrest to a right-wing coup.
Thousands of Chileans flooded the streets of Santiago and other cities in a general strike on Wednesday, upping the pressure on beleaguered President Sebastian Piñera after days of social unrest that left at least 18 dead.
On Sunday, October 27, in Uruguay, a new president, and Parliament will be elected. According to pollsters, the same parties as in 2014, the official Frente Amplio (FA, Broad Front) and the conservative National Party, will go on second ballotage in November. However, the novelty is that the Legislature will be made up of a minimum of six parties (a historical record) and a maximum of nine.
Arson attacks, rioting, looting on Tuesday has extended to several Bolivian cities to protest the results of the country's presidential election process on Sunday, particularly since an oddly delayed official quick count showed President Evo Morales near an outright first-round victory — even as a more formal tally tended to show him heading for a risky runoff.
The Chilean government established on Friday night a state of national emergency in the capital Santiago and surrounding areas following extensive arson, rioting and looting in the city by students protesting transport fares, particularly subway fares, which are considered among the most expensive in the region.
Catalonia should hold a new vote on independence from Spain within two years, the head of the region's government said on Thursday in a fresh challenge to Madrid following days of unrest by pro-separatist protesters.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's suspension of parliament just weeks before Britain's EU departure date faced legal challenges on Thursday amid a furious outcry from pro-Europeans and MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit.