Chile: Clashes at Start of 2-Day National Strike

Protesters barricaded roads and burned tires in parts of Santiago, Chile’s capital, on Wednesday as a two-day national strike demanding economic and other changes began, but copper mining was not disrupted and the government said 95 percent of public workers ignored the call. In several cities outside Santiago, however, stone-throwing protesters clashed with police officers in riot gear who responded with water cannons and tear gas. The strike, called by the main umbrella labor union, comes on the heels of huge protests by students demanding education reforms. Many critics of the government have railed against President Sebastián Piñera, a conservative billionaire, and demanded a greater share of the wealth created by a copper price boom. Chile is the world’s top copper producer.