Many people in Chile were unhappy.
They wanted things to be fair. Some people went to the streets. They marched to be heard. This helped them change their rules.
Do you think it is good to speak up?
Many people in Chile were unhappy.
They wanted things to be fair.
It started when train prices went up. Students led the way. They did not pay the new fares.
This led to big protests. Many people marched in the streets. They wanted better lives.
Some things were broken during the unrest. The government sent the army to help.
Later, the people voted. They wanted to write new rules for their land.
This was a big change for Chile.
Many people in Chile were unhappy. They felt life was not fair.
Prices for buses and trains went up in Santiago. This made life harder for many. Students led the way by not paying the new fares.
This led to large protests. The unrest spread to many cities. People marched in the streets to ask for change.
Some parts of the train system were broken or burned. The government sent the army to help keep order. President Sebastián Piñera also declared a state of emergency.
The protests caused much damage. Many jobs were lost. But the people also wanted new rules for their country. They voted to write a new constitution. A constitution is a set of main rules for a nation.
In 2021, Gabriel Boric was elected as the new president. This was a big step for the people of Chile.
The Social Outburst was a time of huge protests in Chile. It began in the capital city, Santiago, in October 2019. Many people felt that life in the country was not fair. They faced a high cost of living and many problems with inequality. One big issue was the price of the Santiago Metro subway.
When subway fares went up, many people became very angry. This unrest eventually spread to many different regions across the whole country.
The protests started with a clever plan by high school students. They used a slogan that meant "evade" to avoid paying new fares. This campaign grew very fast on social media. Soon, the protests turned into large demonstrations and riots.
Some people even took over train stations. This led to many clashes with the Carabineros de Chile, which is the national police force. The situation became very difficult for the city to manage.
In October 2019, the situation became even more serious. Many parts of the Santiago Metro were damaged or burned. In fact, eighty-one stations suffered major damage, and seventeen were burned down.
President Sebastián Piñera reacted by declaring a state of emergency. He sent the Chilean Army to different regions to keep order. A curfew was also set for the Greater Santiago area. The unrest moved to cities like Concepción, San Antonio, and Valparaíso.
These events caused a lot of loss for the country. About 3.5 billion dollars was lost due to damage to buildings and tools. Many people also lost their jobs during this time.
By late December 2019, reports showed 29 people had died. Nearly 2,500 people were injured, and 2,840 people were arrested. Human rights groups also reported that security forces treated some protesters very poorly. It was a very hard time for many Chilean families.
Even though things were difficult, the people worked for change. In November 2019, leaders agreed to hold a vote about the nation's constitution. A constitution is the set of main rules for a country.
In 2020, many people voted to rewrite these rules. Later, in 2021, Gabriel Boric was elected as the new president. This showed how the protests led to new leaders and new ways of governing the land.
The Social Outburst, known in Chile as *Estallido Social*, refers to a period of massive demonstrations and severe riots. These events primarily took place between October 2019 and March 2020. The unrest began in the capital city, Santiago, but soon spread to all regions of Chile. It is considered the most significant period of civil unrest in the country since the end of Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship. This movement was driven by deep social frustrations regarding inequality and the high cost of living.
Many different factors caused the public to become angry. One immediate trigger was a rise in the Santiago Metro subway fares. The Panel of Public Transport Experts decided to increase peak-hour fares by 30 pesos. This change was meant to cover rising costs like fuel and labor. However, many Chileans felt the cost of public transport was already too high. In Santiago, monthly transport costs equaled 13.8% of the minimum wage. This was much higher than in other cities like Buenos Aires or Lima.
Beyond transportation, the country faced a crisis of inequality. While Chile was one of South America's wealthiest nations, wealth was not shared equally. The top 1% of the population controlled 26.5% of the country's wealth. Meanwhile, half of the low-income households only had access to 2.1%. People also struggled with the costs of privatized education, health, and pension systems. Many felt trapped by debt and high prices for basic needs like rent and utilities. These economic disparities created a sense of deep unfairness across the nation.
The protests began with a coordinated fare evasion campaign by secondary school students. Using the slogan "¡Evade!" (evade), students avoided paying subway fares to protest the price hike. This campaign spread rapidly through social media. By the second week of October, the movement grew beyond students to include many other groups. Protesters took over several main train stations in Santiago. This led to direct, open confrontations with the Carabineros de Chile, the national gendarmerie.
The situation escalated sharply on 18 October 2019. Large groups of people began vandalizing the city's infrastructure. Many stations in the Santiago Metro network were seized, damaged, or burned. In total, eighty-one stations sustained major damage, and seventeen of them were burned down. The entire Metro network had to be closed for a time. In response, President Sebastián Piñera declared a state of emergency. He authorized the Chilean Army to deploy across main regions to prevent further destruction.
The unrest had a massive impact on the Chilean economy and its people. The destruction of public and private infrastructure caused an estimated loss of 3.5 billion dollars. Additionally, about 300,000 jobs were lost due to the damage. The human cost was also very high. By late December 2019, reports indicated that 29 people had died. Nearly 2,500 people were injured, and 2,840 people were arrested. Human rights organizations also reported various violations committed by security forces against protesters.
These events eventually led to major political changes and a new constitutional process. In November 2019, the National Congress agreed to hold a referendum to rewrite the constitution. On 25 October 2020, 78.28% of voters approved the change to allow for a new constitution. This led to the election of a convention in 2021 to draft the new text. Later, in 2021, Gabriel Boric was elected president with 55.86% of the vote. Although a proposed new constitution was later rejected in a 2022 plebiscite, the movement fundamentally changed Chile's political landscape.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (10)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.