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AS IT IS
Protests Continue in Chile After Replacement of Cabinet
October 29, 2019
A masked protester stands by a burning barricade in Santiago, Chile, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
For two weeks, hundreds of thousands of people have been demonstrating in Chile’s capital, Santiago.
Fresh demonstrations and attacks on businesses were reported Monday. Thousands of protesters crowded into central Santiago. One group set fire to a building that houses a fast-food restaurant and stores.
President Sebastián Piñera has tried to show Chileans that he is listening to protesters’ calls for greater equality and improved social services. Since the unrest began, Piñera has replaced eight Cabinet ministers with ministers whose politics are said to be more centrist.
Also on Monday, looters attacked a drug store, and there was an attempt to set a train station on fire. Hundreds of thousands of people tried to get home from work on free buses that officials sent to replace trains. The trains have been out of service because of attacks on train stations over the past week.
Santiago has the most modern public transportation system in Latin America.
Cabinet changes
Piñera has replaced the heads of the interior, treasury, economy, labor and four other ministries with generally younger officials. Political observers say the appointees are thought to be more centrist and accessible.
“Chile has changed and the government must change,” Chile’s president said.
By Monday, the government had announced no policies to answer the protests over poor social services and the high cost of living.
“A new Cabinet isn’t enough. We need real changes in healthcare, education, pensions,” said 34-year-old Omar Soto. He operates a mobile phone business.
Almost all of the protesters say they are angry with what they call the neoliberalism that has left Chile with poor public services. These include the private pension system and health and education systems that are a mix of public and private, with better results only for those who have money for the high costs.
Many Chileans talk of waiting a year for an appointment with a medical specialist, or families receiving calls to get appointments for loved ones who died months earlier. Hundreds of thousands of people are struggling with educational loans that can follow them into their 40s and even 50s.
“Last Friday we had a peaceful protest and, being peaceful, they didn’t listen to us,” said a protester named Sebastián. “You have to get their attention somehow.” Sebastián is a 25-year-old welder who did not give his last name, saying he feared authorities.
The government answered the demonstrations and looting with a military operation that has left more than 1,000 people hurt. Some were partially blinded by police or soldiers’ gunshot pellets. That information comes from the National Human Rights Institute and the Chilean College of Medicine.
At least 20 people have died as a result of the 11 days of violence. But it is unclear how many were killed by police and how many by looters.
On Monday, the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, sent a delegation to Chile to investigate. Amnesty International also sent a team.
From overseas, Chile is seen as a Latin American success story. It has had democratically elected presidents. Its economy has grown. Poverty is down. And Chile won Latin America’s highest score on the United Nations Human Development Index, or HDI. The HDI compares life expectancy rates, education and national income per person.
In 2010, Chile became the second Latin member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, after Mexico.
Yet, a 2017 United Nations report found that the richest one percent of Chile’s population earns 33 percent of the nation’s wealth. That helps make Chile the most unequal country in the OECD, slightly worse than Mexico.
Piñera himself is a billionaire, one of Chile’s richest men.
Comparably, a 2017 study showed that the richest one percent in the United States owned 40% of the nation's wealth.
I’m John Russell. And I’m Alice Bryant.
Michael Weissenstein and Eva Vergara reported this story for the Associated Press. Alice Bryant adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
looter – n. a person who steals things from a place (such as a store or house) after destruction has been caused by fire, rioting or something else
accessible – adj. easy to speak to or deal with
pension – n. an amount of money that a company or the government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works
neoliberalism – n. generally defined as an economic system that favors policies of free-market capitalism
pellet – n. a small metal object that is shot from a gun
score – n. the number of points received in a ranking system
AS IT IS
Wildfires, Power Cuts Hit Northern, Southern California
October 29, 2019
Firefighters try to save a home on Tigertail Road during the Getty fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo/ Christian Monterrosa)
Hundreds of thousands of families in California are being affected by wildfires in the state, and as many as 1.5 million people may lose electrical power.
The company Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) called for another blackout early Tuesday in 29 northern California counties. An earlier power outage that started Saturday affected 2.5 million people, the Associated Press reported.
PG & E is the nation’s biggest utility company. But it has been severely criticized for the last two years over the part it has played in fires in the state and how it has provided electricity during those times.
Some Californians are unhappy with the company’s decision to cut electricity. Janet Luoma of Santa Rosa told the Associated Press, “It’s so obvious it’s just to protect them from more liability.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom has grown accustomed to fires. “What’s interesting about the fires at this moment is that it’s rather normal,” he told reporters Monday. “What’s not normal is the power shutoffs,” he added.
The fires have affected or destroyed many homes across the state. They have even affected people who live in costly neighborhoods in southern California. NBA Basketball superstar LeBron James was forced to leave the area where he and his family live and tweeted about it on Sunday:
In Northern California, schools are closed in some areas while others do not have power. Stores in Oakland, near San Francisco, are using generators. And many people use their cars to charge their electronic devices.
Affecting north and south
The fire is affecting areas in both the northern and southern parts of the nation’s second largest state by land area.
In the north, the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection says the Kincade Fire is affecting more than 30,000 hectares in Sonoma County. The fire has been burning for five days and is only 15 percent contained. Sonoma County is famous for wine growing. The AP reported that 96 buildings were destroyed in the county as of Tuesday. But it is only one of the fires in the area.
In southern California one of the fires has destroyed homes near the Getty Museum which holds a major art collection and library. However, while eight homes nearby were burned the museum is in better condition than other structures. It is made of stone and has a huge water storage tank.
Strong winds are feeding the fires and spreading them quickly. Weather experts on Tuesday said they expected strong winds in the north with little chance of rain.
Scotty Richardson spoke to AP about his experience. He lost power on Saturday. He said the possibility that electricity will not be restored for days makes him “furious, furious.”
Last week, PG & E admitted that its equipment might have been the cause of fires in some areas.
I’m Mario Ritter Jr.
Michelle Quinn reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English with additional material from AP. Hai Do was the editor.
________________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
county–n. an area of a state or country that is larger than a city and has its own government to deal with local matters
utility –n. a service that supplies something needed to the public like electricity or water
accustomed –adj. used to, familiar with something so that it appears normal
rather–adv. to some degree or extent
liability –n. to be legally responsible for something
evacuate –v. to leave some place, often by order
furious –adj. extremely angry
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THE DAY IN PHOTOS
October 29, 2019
October 29, 2019
A look at the best news photos from around the world.
1John Hamilton, vice president and chief engineer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg, look back at family members of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims during a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
2Hindu devotees collect rice as offerings given out by the temple authority for the 'Annakut' or 'Govardhan Puja' festival at the Madan Mohan temple in Kolkata, India.
3Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a military officer at the National Security Council, center, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to testify as part of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump.
4Fire crews walk along a blackened mountain path as they battle the Getty fire, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angles.
5Members of a first aid team and a photographer take cover during an anti-government protest in Santiago, Chile, Oct. 28, 2019.
6A fisherman carries a large Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) at the Piagacu-Purus Sustainable Development Reserve in Amazonas state, Brazil.
7A French photographer is attacked by Hezbollah supporters while covering clashes between them and anti-government protesters in Beirut, Lebanon.
8A girl walks past a snow-covered rowanberry tree in St. Petersburg, Russia.
9U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump watch a young girl as they give candy to children during a Halloween trick-or-treat event on the South Lawn of the White House, Oct. 28, 2019, in Washington.
10British inventor Richard Browning uses a jet pack to show his technology at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the Future Investment Initiative meeting is being held.
11A horse from Chalk Hill Ranch is given a saline breathing treatment at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds during an evacuation from the Kincade fire in Santa Rosa, California, Oct. 28, 2019.