Two churches were torched as thousands of protesters gathered on Sunday in a central Santiago square to mark the anniversary of a protest movement that broke out last year demanding greater equality in Chile.
The demonstration comes just a week before Chileans vote in a referendum on whether to replace the dictatorship-era constitution — one of the key demands when the protest movement began on October 18, 2019.
Although the protests started in the morning at Plaza Italia with festive atmosphere, there were several incidents of violence, looting and vandalism in the afternoon.
The Church of the Assumption close to Plaza Italia was burnt to the ground as hooded protesters cheered, while a second-place of worship was looted and set on fire but fire fighter were able to get it under control.
There were clashes between groups of football hooligans in one Santiago neighbourhood and protesters in Plaza Italia doused a statue with red paint.
Daniel Jadue, the communist mayor of a neighbourhood near the central square, was hounded out of Plaza Italia by protesters.
Victor Hugo de la Fuente, a journalist and manager at the Chilean edition of Le Monde Diplomatique, believed that happiness reigned amongst protesters “due to the possibility of progressing and achieving a fairer and more democratic Chile.”
Demonstrators also called for their countrymen to vote to “approve” the proposed constitutional change.
“This is the opportunity to say enough! We’re here and we’re going to vote for ‘Approve,'” Paulina Villarroel, a 29-year-old psychologist said.
The Chile presidency which is one of the protesters’ main targets, has called on demonstrators to be peaceful and to respect covid-19 restrictions.
The deadly outbreak has left 13,600 Chileans dead and more than 490,000 infected.
Protests broke out a year ago initially as a response to a hike in metro fares, before mushrooming into a general demonstration against inequality and the government.
On one night of unrest, a dozen metro stations were set ablaze, bus stops were smashed, supermarkets looted, buildings vandalized and protesters clashed with riot police who fired tear gas and used water cannons.