CHILE: POWER HUNGRY VS. THE HUNGRY

Last week, over a million Chilean citizens filled the streets of the capital city of Santiago protesting low wages, high living costs, and government corruption.

While many participating in current protests across the globe are young, in Chile, the street rallies also include many elderly citizens, angry over a failing pension system that promised them comfortable retirements.  

The system, set up decades ago, has proven too expensive to pay into, leaving millions of older workers unable to retire and not making enough in old age to keep up with rising living costs.

Some $216 billion has been paid into the system since it began… the protestors claim the money was used to finance projects owned by a small group of Chilean elites.

The street demonstrations got violent last week with many buildings burned, buses incapacitated, and the subway system closed.  

President Sebastián Piñera had to cancel two global summits that had been scheduled to meet in Santiago.