South America

21 October 2019; AFP: Chile is "at war", President Sebastian Pinera said Sunday, as the country reels from three days of violent demonstrations and looting that have left seven dead and almost 1,500 detained in the worst outbreak of social unrest in decades.

20 October 2019; AFP: Three people died in a fire in a supermarket being ransacked in the Chilean capital early Sunday, as protests sparked by anger over social and economic conditions rocked one of Latin America's most stable countries.

Santiago's Mayor Karla Rubilar told reporters two people burned to death in the blaze and another later died in hospital, after the huge store controlled by US retail chain Walmart was looted.

SANTIAGO, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- A total of 41 subway stations were damaged and at least 308 people were arrested during protests on Friday against an increase in metro fares in Santiago, Chilean Minister of National Defense Javier Iturriaga said on Saturday.

The violent protests prompted the government to declare a state of emergency and the deployment of soldiers in the provinces of Santiago and Chacabuco, as well as in the Metropolitan municipalities of Puente Alto and San Bernardo.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — South America’s longest-serving leader is seeking an unprecedented fourth term in Bolivian elections on Sunday, but polls suggest Evo Morales is in the tightest race of his career.

The 59-year-old leftist is favored to win the first round vote, but he’s likely to be forced into a December runoff where he could be vulnerable to a united opposition.

The son of impoverished Aymara shepherds, Morales came to prominence leading social protests and won election as Bolivia’s first indigenous president in 2006.

BRASILIA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The five BRICS countries should strengthen unity and cooperation to uphold multilateralism and promote the development of the international order in a more just and rational direction, a senior Chinese official has said.

Speaking at the 9th Meeting of the BRICS High Representatives for Security Issues held here from Thursday to Friday.

QUITO, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- More than 10 days of anti-government protests sparked by fuel hikes left six people dead and 1,507 people injured in Ecuador, the government said on Tuesday.

A total of 1,330 people were arrested for protest-related crimes, such as vandalism, Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said at a joint press conference with General Commander of the National Police Nelson Villegas.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — Brazil’s National Trade Confederation (CNC) announced that they expect 91,000 temporary jobs will be created in the upcoming holiday season.

The figure is the highest estimated in the past six years and, if confirmed, will represent a 4-percent increase year-on-year.

The Christmas season is expected to bring 35.9 billion reals to the retail sector in Brazil, the CNC estimates.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's National Trade Confederation (CNC) announced on Monday that they expect 91,000 temporary jobs will be created in the upcoming holiday season.

The figure is the highest estimated in the past six years and, if confirmed, will represent a 4-percent increase year-on-year.

The Christmas season is expected to bring 35.9 billion reals (about 8.7 billion U.S. dollars) to the retail sector in Brazil, the CNC estimates.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Thousands of indigenous demonstrators, student volunteers and local residents launched a mass cleanup Monday of a Quito park where anti-austerity protesters fought police for days, leaving piles of burning tires, trees and construction material.

President Lenín Moreno signed a new decree returning gas prices to traditionally low, subsidized levels a day after striking a deal to cancel a disputed austerity package and end nearly two weeks of protests that paralyzed the Ecuadorian economy and left seven dead.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — President Lenín Moreno and leaders of Ecuador’s indigenous peoples struck a deal late Sunday to cancel a disputed austerity package and end nearly two weeks of protests that have paralyzed the economy and left seven dead. 

Under the agreement announced just before 10 p.m., Moreno will withdraw the International Monetary Fund-backed package known as Decree 883 that included a sharp rise in fuels. Indigenous leaders, in turn, will call on their followers to end protests and street blockades.