General strike takes to the streets in Chile on May Day

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Chile dawned on Friday, April 30, under a General Strike, called by the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT – the main worker’s union) in rejection of president Sebastián Piñera’s government.

Called under the slogan “Bread, work, health and dignity,” the demonstration is an early celebration of May 1st, International Workers’ Day, although without the massive street demonstrations of past years, due to the Covid-19 health crisis.

According to the organizers, the strike is intended to express the discontent of the working class and the general population, and their uneasiness with what they describe as indolence and greed on the part of the Government.

According to a CUT press release, the Executive has been inefficient and erratic in its management of the pandemic, with a death toll of thousands of human lives, and has not hesitated to safeguard the interests of large companies, leaving the country in a severe economic and social crisis.

CUT members are demanding a monthly minimum wage of 500,000 Chilean pesos (around US$700), and a Universal Basic Income for 80% of the population.

Likewise, they demand the freezing of food prices, which have risen in recent months, exacerbating the hardships of thousands of families, as well as support for the approval of a tax on the super-rich, a bill under discussion in Parliament, promoted by the Communist party and deputies of other parties.

Several unions, organizations, parties and political movements publicly expressed their support for the protest. Among them are port workers, miners, the “No más TAG” movement, the National Association of Fiscal Employees (ANEF), the Teachers’ Association, and left-wing movements and parties that comprise the platform Chile Digno, Verde y Soberano (Dignified, Green and Sovereign Chile).

In addition, the Chilean Coordinating Assembly of Secondary School Students (ACES) and workers and professional organizations from the most varied sectors joined in.

According to ANEF’s president José Pérez Debelli, on Wednesday the leaders of the organization and members of the union structures were urged to participate.

For his part, the president of the Teachers’ College Carlos Díaz emphasized that his organization joined the strike in clear rejection of the Education Ministry’s policies in the wake of the crisis triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Meanwhile, ACES spokesman Gabriel Palape stressed that his organization protested on Wednesday at the Plaza Egaña subway station, in the context of the strike called for Friday.

The strike was scheduled to be held in the form of absence from work activities and remote work, as well as flag-waving and pot-banging, together with all kinds of activities to demonstrate the discontent, said the CUT’s president Bárbara Figueroa.

She also explained that, because of Covid-19, they did not call for demonstrations or rallies because “we must safeguard health measures. We do not want to expose the life, health or integrity of any person, but we can no longer bear the burden of the crisis.”

However, news came to light that the Chilean Carabineros planned to deploy a strong police contingent with tighter controls at several points in the city of Santiago de Chile, in the event of demonstrations and protests.

Source: Telesur