EL BOSQUE, Chile - Chilean protests have been going on since 2019 and have headed on into 2020. Protesters in the streets chant, "Chile is waking up," but Chile's centrist right government has made some concessions. They now say that they want to raise the minimum wage from $396 to $460, presented by President Sebastian Pinera. However, the secretary-general and leaders of Chile's Senate and House wanted to persuade him to throw out that bill and focus instead on the government's total structural reform. It is hard to foresee precisely which direction the country will progress forward with so many different viewpoints. With December 8, 2019's non-binding consultation showing that 92.4% voters want a new constitution and 73.1% want an all-citizen convention, voters are making voices heard loudly and adamantly. Violence between police and protesters has led to 11 deaths and thousands thrown in jail. 

These clashes have been the government having to declare a "State of Emergency" as businesses are looted, and buses are burned. It would seem the people are staging their own unique drama as the world watches. With the country calling for curfew in major cities such as Santiago, the government is having to act strictly with shows of military force. The last time such force was used was at the Pinochet rule's close in the 1990s. The recent novel Coronavirus issue may be causing more issues in Chile. The people of Chilies are on edge over the food shortages that came about during lock down due to the Coronavirus. It seems that the government used water cannon and tear gas to quell a protest in a poverty-stricken area, El Bosque, Chile. 

The government is not getting in line with the overall message of equal treatment for all Chileans regardless of economic status. Though the government said in a statement that they distributed over 2,000 aid packages, still the entire needs of the country and El Bosque could not be met. The mayor of the district in El Bosque, Sadi Melo, declared the situation "very complex" due to the clearly seen "hunger and lack of work." What other tolls has Coronavirus taken? Since being ordered to stay at home, it looks like some are going hungry. President Pinera said that aid would go mainly to "the most vulnerable families." Following that comment Felipe Guevera, the governor of the metropolitan area, tweeted in Spanish about the ongoing crisis: "I understand the deep anguish of millions of Chileans, thousands are starving." While making these comments, Guevera subsequently dismissed the disputed comments he had made about the protests in a televised broadcast. The civil unrest witnessed in Chile can be seen in various Latin American countries, such as Colombia, where people have begun draping red cloths out-of-doors to signal hunger. 

The protests in Chile have been happening since the government announced it would raise metro fares in 2019. Let us hope the government can come to terms with the people's wants and needs before unforgivable violence occurs again. While the protests first started due to the raised metro fares, there were other issues at stakes, such as the high costs of health care, unequal handling of Chile's peoples, and unsatisfactory financing of education. 

There was trouble brewing in Chiles' waters for a while before Santiago's metro fares resulted in protests. Besides calling necessary attention to Chiles' problems, another good thing that has come out of the protests is incredible street art. Graphic artist Oscar Nunez, who has played a lead role in protests since they began, goes by the name Mr. Owl. Mr. Owl's art moves violence aside and allows for a peaceful conversation to occur between onlookers. Says Nunez, "I started using the imagery of a military police officer in a peaceful yoga pose. It is ironic and fresh, but my favorite part is that other graffiti artists have put their own touches to that image," he says. It seems many long-awaited and much-needed changes and beauty will come out of the pain of Chile and their sometimes peaceful, sometimes violent clashes. Hopefully, the future holds the changes they the people wish to see.

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