
THE announcement today by the organisers of the general strike in the Magallanes Region of Chile that there will be some “flexibility” in the road blocks currently in place outside the city of Punta Arenas will no doubt cause some easing of the pressure on the Chilean President to find a solution.

The southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas had its largest strike in decades Wednesday in response to a government proposal to increase the price of gas in the region by 20%.

Portugal has become the latest country to introduce austerity measures, after both Greece and Spain took similar steps to stabilize public finances in the face of massive debt.