 For more videos on people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. For the past several days, tens of thousands of Chileans have taken to the streets across the country protesting against the economic policies of the right-wing government of President Sebastian Pinera. The government has chosen to respond to these mobilizations with violent repression and by declaring a state of emergency. Protesters are calling for an end to all forms of repression and demanding the immediate withdrawal of the state of emergencies and curfews declared in various regions of the country. On Monday, for instance, thousands of Chileans mobilized in different parts of the country as part of a national strike. This two-day general strike was called for by the Coalition of Social Unity and demanded the immediate resignation of the president. The Coalition of Social Unity is a platform that brings together more than 50 national social movements, students' organizations and trade unions, including the Workers' United Centre, the National Association of Physical Employees, etc. The platform denounced the deployment of the military, a measure which is part of the state of emergency. The social movements and organizations pointed out that the military has not patrolled the streets of Chile since the last civic military dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet. According to Chilean human rights organizations, in the last six days of the anti-government protests, more than 5,000 have been arrested, hundreds have been tortured, and many have been sexually assaulted by national security forces during the police repression. Let us take a closer look at why Chileans are protesting. On October 6, the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunication announced an increase in the fare of the metropolitan public transport network. This affects citizens travelling by buses, metro and central train in 32 communes in the province of Santiago. According to the new traffic structure during peak hours, the metro ticket will cost 830 Chilean pesos, which is around 1.16 US dollars, and a bus ticket would cost 710 Chilean pesos, which is one dollar. This makes Chilean transport services one of the most expensive in Latin America. Following this, on October 11th, high school students began refusing to buy metro tickets en masse and jumped the turnstiles to protest the hike. Soon, videos started circulating on social media depicting episodes of violent repression of the students. On Friday, October 18th, the broader public in Santiago joined in the protests in solidarity with the thousands taken to the streets. After Friday's mobilization, Pinera declared a state of emergency in Santiago in order to suppress the popular indignation. Under the emergency, Pinera designated a Major General of the Army as Chief of National Security and as the responsible authority in Santiago for 15 days. The state of emergency also prohibits people from holding public meetings, mobilizations and allows the military to fulfill the functions of the police. However, the protests are no longer just about the fare hikes. They are tapping into the broader social discontent in the country caused by neoliberal austerity measures that have been promoted in the country since the arrival of the Chicago Boys after the installation of the military dictatorship. Chile has long served as the region's laboratory of neoliberalism and while this has been intensified under Pinera, the current crisis is 30 years in the making. Today, Chile is one of the most expensive countries in the region and one of the most unequal. Despite historic struggles by Chile students, higher education in the country is still one of the most expensive and difficult to access in the region. Chile's public health system is deteriorating, pensions are privatized and severely inadequate and salaries are insufficient to keep up with the high cost of living. Chile is one of the only countries in the world where water is privatized. It also has the highest number of free trade agreements in the world. Under Pinera, neoliberal measures have been intensified with the acceleration of the repeal of workers rights, anti-union measures, privatization of public education and the advancement of extractive industry. The protesting sectors are demanding that the senators and members of parliament support them, carry out a legislative strike and not pass any bill or ratify international treaties. They are also demanding the establishment of a national constituent assembly in order to develop in a participatory way a new structural base for the Chilean society and thereby open the way to a national development model. This model would end the current unfair and abusive neoliberal model. To all these legitimate demands, the government has responded with heavy police repression and militarization of cities. The national police force, the Carabineros, have been brutally repressing the popular uprising using tear gas, pepper spray, water cannons, rubber pellets and even live bullets. However, despite a violent repression by the national police and military forces, Chileans continue to resist, defying the state of emergency and curfews. They are not ready to surrender to any attempts by the government or to pluck it or curb the indignation. Across Latin America and the Caribbean, protests have been held in solidarity with the people of Chile and to denounce the brutal response of the state to the protests. Many have also pointed out the silence of the far-right governments in the region who are quick to speak out about the much smaller opposition protests in Venezuela and Bolivia, but have done nothing to condemn the actions of Pinera's government, which is already responsible for the death of over 20 protesters. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Chilean activists, as well as Argentinian social movements and organizations mobilized outside the Chilean embassy to stand in solidarity with the dignified struggle of the people. Their mobilization too was met with heavy repression by the Argentinian police and several people were arrested. The social movements of ALBA also expressed its solidarity, saying, we denounce the authoritarianism of Pinera's government and demand an end to the state of emergency. No more repression and arbitrary detentions.