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☆ Crime, inflation hammer support for Chile's Boric in tough first year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Natalia A. Ramos Miranda | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I wanted to give a chance to a young person, without the problems of the older politicians," she said. Recent pardons of 12 protesters convicted for crimes such as looting and robbery during 2019 riots went down badly amid rising crime statistics. The president's spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment, but Boric has repeatedly acknowledged that his administration has made mistakes. During a news conference announcing the justice minister's resignation, Boric said the government was determined to "strengthen political management." "Sometimes it seems that he is ruling just so that the right does not get angry," said 46-year-old designer and Boric voter Gaston Gomez.

☆ Robbers pull off multimillion-dollar copper heist in Chilean port
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Chilean authorities said on Wednesday they were investigating a violent heist in Chile's main seaport where thieves stole several shipping containers filled with copper belonging to state-owned giant Codelco. In a statement to Reuters, Codelco said the copper was scheduled to be exported and was insured. The heist is the largest copper theft since a spate of gangster heists in northern Chile last October forced the government to tighten security on trains carrying copper cathodes. The violent robbery adds pressure over shipment security in the world's largest copper producer. Authorities blamed the train heists on international crime groups while police said Wednesday's heist could be a local group.

☆ Chile, Colombia call for extraordinary OAS meeting after Brazil riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Chilean President Gabriel Boric called for an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Monday to address riots in Brazil where supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed top government buildings. Boric, speaking alongside Colombia President Gustavo Petro outside La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, called Sunday's riots "unacceptable" and also condemned "complicit silence." Petro, a former rebel and Colombia's first leftist president, compared the attack to the 1973 Chilean coup against Salvador Allende. "We just saw it in Brazil, but it's not just in Brazil," Petro said. Reporting by Alexander Villegas in Santiago and Julia Symmes Cobb Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chile's Boric pardons 12 convicted after 2019 protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SANTIAGO, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Chile's President Gabriel Boric on Friday pardoned 12 people connected with widespread protests against inequality in 2019 that left more than 30 dead. Political factions and organizations had called for the release of the people connected to violent protests that shook the South American country. As a candidate, Boric had talked about pardoning some of those convicted for less violent crimes after the protests. The move was celebrated by political allies with senator Fabiola Campillai, who was blinded during the protests before running for office, calling it a "humanitarian act." Boric also pardoned a member of a rebel group on Friday for a total of 13 pardons.

☆ Bolivia to protect big-state economic model, plans‘aggressive’ gas push: minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Monica Machicao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LA PAZ, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Bolivia is committed to protecting its subsidy-reliant, big-state economic model despite deficit risks and is planning an "aggressive" push into gas exploration, the economy minister told Reuters. Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said the government has designed "a very aggressive exploration plan" for gas in 2023, but did not go into details. The government is projecting to shrink the 2023 deficit to about 7.5%. "It is not easy, because there are contracts that will last for years, even decades ... We have to push so that more profits remain for Bolivia," Montenegro said. Reporting by Monica Machicao in La Paz Written by Daniel Ramos Edited by Nicolás Misculin, Alexander Villegas and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Caught in the crossfire, Peru protest deaths keep anger burning
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Alexander Villegas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

The protests, the worst in years even in tumultuous Peru, have seen 22 people killed, the youngest just 15. The deaths threaten to keep anger fired up despite a lull in violence over the festive period in the heavily Catholic country. A security camera near the airport shows protesters invading the runway around 2 p.m., some throwing rocks and burning tires while troops gathered. The deaths have become a lightning rod for anger in poor Andean and Amazonian areas, when many feel overlooked despite local oil and copper wealth. She said the deaths would spur more anger as people looked to find someone to hold accountable.

☆ Peru ministers visit protest zone as families bury their dead
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Alexander Villegas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The police and armed forces have been accused by rights groups of using deadly firearms and dropping smoke bombs from helicopters. The military says protesters, most in Peru's Andean south, have used homemade weapons and explosives. "In this crisis today where families are mourning and in pain, where basic public infrastructure is destroyed... A recent Ipsos Peru poll showed that 52% of people who live in Peru's south supported Castillo's attempt to shutter Congress, while nationally only 33% approved with 63% against it. Reporting by Alexander Villegas in Ica, Peru; Writing by Marco Aquino; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Huaman is one of Peru's "forgotten" people, marginalized, rural groups Castillo tried to represent - often falling short - whose anger has been fired up by his arrest, threatening to derail a fragile new government and a reviled Congress. Many of the protesters - some Castillo supporters and others simply angry - said they felt ignored by political leaders. The military says protesters, most in Peru's Andean south, have used homemade weapons and explosives. A political rookie, he had won support with pledges to reform the constitution, redistribute huge copper riches and empower marginalized indigenous groups. Outside the Lima jail, Katherine Asto had come to support Castillo wearing a white hat with a slogan making her feelings clear: "Shut down Congress, it's a nest of rats".

☆ On Easter Island, burned Moai statues are a symbol of growing tensions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Alexander Villegas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Image of a Moai damaged in a forest fire inside the Rano Raraku volcano in Rapa Nui park, Easter Island, Chile November 15, 2022. REUTERS/Pablo SanhuezaHANGA ROA, Easter Island, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Charred Moai stone statues on Easter Island, singed in a wildfire earlier this year, are signs of a growing tension between landowners and conservationists in this tiny, remote island in the middle of the Pacific. Chilean government data show wildfires on Easter Island have exploded in recent years, with the last two years seeing the most on record going back to the 1990s. CLAN SYSTEMThousands of miles of ocean separate Rapa Nui from its closest continental neighbor and the island has fascinated visitors and archaeologists for centuries with its giant stone Moai. But some islanders instead want a return to the clan system which existed before the 1888 treaty between one of the last kings of Rapa Nui and Chile.

☆ Venezuela opposition demand date to resume dialogue with Maduro in Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CARACAS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition asked President Nicolas Maduro's government to set a date to resume political talks in Mexico that could alleviate the county's long-running political and economic crises. Government and opposition delegates met in Mexico City on Nov. 26 after more than a year of hiatus, and signed a "social agreement", but did not announce a date to meet again. The opposition later said they would meet with the ruling party in December. The head of the opposition delegation, Gerardo Blyde, said this week that talks would enter a challenging phase including political issues and human rights. "We demand that Nicolas Maduro not continue delaying the commitment assumed in Mexico and proceed immediately to set the date, within the month of December, to continue the negotiation with the political and freedom agenda as agreed," the opposition said.

☆ El Salvador deploys 10,000 troops to gang-run capital suburb
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Troops walk in the suburb of Soyapango, after El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced the deployment of 10,000 security forces to the troubled area which for years has been considered a stronghold of the violent Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs, in San Salvador, El Salvador December 3, 2022. REUTERS/Jose CabezasSAN SALVADOR, Dec 3 (Reuters) - El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced Saturday the deployment of 10,000 security forces to a suburb of San Salvador known to be a stronghold for gangs. Images released by the government showed troops carrying heavy weapons, helmets and bulletproof vests, traveling in war vehicles. The municipality has a population of about 300,000 and was previously considered impregnable for law enforcement. Reporting by Gerardo Arbaiza; Edited by Noé Torres and Alexander Villegas and Franklin PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Enel Chile says agreement with Shell to bring $500 mln positive impact
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SANTIAGO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Enel Generacion Chile (ENELGXCH.SN) said on Friday that it reached an agreement with Shell (SHEL.L) to carry out contractual modifications that would have a pre-tax financial positive impact of about $500 million. In a note to local markets regulator, Enel Generacion Chile said the changes are still pending some corporate authorizations that are expected in December. The note said that "among others", one of the changes is the partial disposal of projected excess liquefied natural gas. "It is estimated that the operation will have a positive impact on the pre-tax result of Enel Generacion Chile of approximately USD 500 million," the note added. On Tuesday, Enel , the Chilean subsidiary's parent company in Italy, announced plans to sell $21.5 billion in assets and pull out of certain markets.

☆ Coca chewing gets chic makeover with bubblegum flavor and TikTok fans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Monica Machicao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A demonstrator uses coca leaves during clashes with police over a new coca market, in La Paz, Bolivia August 8, 2022. REUTERS/Claudia Morales/File PhotoSANTIAGO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - With flavors ranging from bubble gum to passion fruit and TikTok stars promoting it, chewing coca has become the latest chic trend in Bolivia. Andean villagers have chewed coca leaves - the base ingredient of cocaine - for centuries to help ward off the effects of high altitude and hunger. Consumption of the leaves is legal in Bolivia and coca is considered by many in the region as a sacred plant. To the traditional "bolo" of coca leaves and baking soda enterprising locals are adding sweeteners and flavoring.

☆ Chile's Boric slams 'terrorist' violence in rural south in rhetorical shift
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Natalia A. Ramos Miranda | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SANTIAGO, Nov 10(Reuters) - Chile's President Gabriel Boric condemned "terrorist" violence during a visit to the country's restive southern region on Thursday, a rhetorical shift for the leader who had pledged to focus on dialogue with indigenous local Mapuche groups and eschew former President Sebastian Pinera's militarization of the region. Boric later reinstated a state of emergency, keeping a strong military presence in the region. During the speech, Boric announced that the government would create two support centers for victims of violence in the region. "We haven't been capable as a state to solve the lag in terms of poverty," Boric said. Report by Natalia Ramos; Writing by Alexander Villegas; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ At Chile wine gala, climate change and water use in focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Chile's vintners are increasingly thinking about how to adapt to shifts in climate and drier weather that has seen the Andean country gripped by drought for over a decade. "It's something that worries all of us vineyards," said Magdalena Villasante from Vina Undurraga, which won the event's top award for its Syrah Carignan Grenache blend. Chile is the world's fourth-largest wine exporter, but dry weather has pushed vineyards to shift. Land for wine growing dropped some 4% in the five years until 2020, with the central Santiago Metropolitan Region, the country's third-largest wine producing region, seeing a decline of nearly 14%, official data show. "We'll probably see more wines from Aysen and Magallanes (in Chile's deep south) in the future what with climate change," Rojas told Reuters.

SANTIAGO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The largest pilots union of Latam Airlines (LTM.SN) in Chile voted to strike on Wednesday, a day before the company said it was planning on concluding its exit from bankruptcy. The Union of Latam Pilots (SPL) said it represents 313 of Latam Airlines's approximately 500 pilots and that 99% of its members voted to approve the strike. The statement said that the company's proposal to link pre-pandemic salary to flight hours is unfeasible and could be reached, at best, three months out of the year. While pilots voted to strike, Chilean law establishes up to four days in which either party can request mediation from the country's labor department. Reporting by Alexander Villegas and Natalia Ramos; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Scattered clashes in Chile mark third anniversary of riots
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Scattered clashes around Chile between protesters and police on Tuesday marked the third anniversary of widespread protests against inequality in 2019 that left more than 30 people dead. In the capital of Santiago, hooded protesters lit fires and threw rocks at police, including in the area surrounding Plaza Baquedano, the epicenter of the 2019 riots, while police responded with gas and water cannons. "The social unrest expressed - and brought - a lot of pain and has left huge consequences," Boric said. Several human groups organizations have questioned the police response during the protests, which left hundreds of protesters blinded by rubber bullets and tens of thousands of people detained. The protests that erupted in 2019 died down with an agreement to draft a new constitution and the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.

☆ LATAM Airlines prepares to exit bankruptcy in November
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SANTIAGO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - LATAM Airlines (LTM.SN) detailed a financing plan on Wednesday that the company hopes will finalize its exit from bankruptcy in the first week of November. The company filed for Chapter 11 in 2020 after airline travel plummeted during the pandemic and won court approval that June. In a note sent to the market regulator late Tuesday night, LATAM detailed the structure of its exit financing that includes a $500 million revolving credit facility and a five-year term loan facility of $1.1 billion. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterIt also includes $450 million in senior secured notes due in 2027 and $700 million in senior secured notes due in 2029 as well as $750 million five-year bridge-to-notes and another $750 million in seven-year bridge-to-notes. The company intends to underwrite the bridging credit lines, the revolving credit line and the term financing on Wednesday.

☆ Chilean lawmakers approve Trans-Pacific Partnership
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chile's Sub Secretary of International Economics Relations Jose Miguel Ahumada shakes hands with Senator Ivan Moreira after the final discussion to vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership at the National Congress in Valparaiso, Chile October 11, 2022. REUTERS/Rodrigo GarridoSANTIAGO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Chile's congress voted to approve the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade deal on Tuesday after four years of legislative debate. Twenty-seven senators voted for the world's largest copper producer to join the 11-country trade deal while 10 voted against and one senator abstained. The government had said the CPTPP was not part of its program and it would not promote or hinder its passage. The trade deal had become a source of political debate, and protesters against the CPTPP gathered outside the Senate building on Tuesday to oppose the deal.

☆ Chile to issue $12 bln in debt in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Rodrigo Campos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chile's Finance Minister Mario Marcel speaks to the media at the congress in Valparaiso, Chile March 23, 2022. REUTERS/Rodrigo GarridoNEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Chile estimates it will issue $12 billion in total debt next year and the largest budget increases will be in social protection and science and technology, Finance Minister Mario Marcel told Reuters on Thursday. The minister is confident Chile will soon make a dent on inflation, running at double digits. Marcel said clear signals for another moderate constitutional proposal, progress on tax reforms and hopeful pension reforms will help reduce uncertainty. "It should take at least six years to face-in all this increase so as not to have an impact on employment."

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