Chile's president calls for end to unrest in Christmas message

Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/12/25 10:38:08

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera (center) announces at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile on Wednesday that Chile has withdrawn as host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Forum in November and the Climate Change COP25 Conference in December after several weeks of violent protests. The APEC summit was scheduled to bring together 20 world leaders from November 16 to 17. The COP25 program was due to run between December 2 and December 13. “This has been a very difficult decision, a decision that causes us a lot of pain, because we fully understand the importance of APEC and COP25 for Chile and for the world,” Pinera said, according to Reuters. Photo: AP


In a Christmas Eve address on Tuesday, Chile's President Sebastian Pinera called for an to more than two months of anti-government protests and greater political cooperation.

Pinera urged unity and conciliation not just with protesters, but also among his own ruling coalition of four parties, Chile Vamos, which has been divided by differences of opinion on how to deal with the political and social unrest.

"A divided country ... doesn't have a good future. A united country that respects its differences but is capable of building together is a country that has a bright future," said Pinera.

"Leave behind all these feelings of conflict, of division, of confrontation and look for what unites us, instead of looking for what sets us apart," Pinera added.

In mid-October, massive protests broke out against a hike in subway fares in the capital Santiago, and quickly spread throughout the country, fueled by anger at Chile's inability to distribute the country's wealth, leading to growing inequality.

Chileans will vote in an April 26 plebiscite on whether to rewrite the Constitution to better address economic and social disparities.

Posted in: AMERICAS

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