A Chilean Leftist Explains Mass Protests in Her Nation

FEATURING MIA DRAGNIC AND TROY KOKINIS – Chilean President Sebastián Piñera has replaced 8 Cabinet members in a bid to appease the public. Chile has been wracked by mass protests for weeks demanding his resignation. Although the protests were triggered by a hike in subway fares, the unrest is more broadly focused on the huge wealth inequality within Chile.

More than a dozen people have died in violent clashes so far and Chilean police are under fire for their brutal response. A number of prominent Chilean leftists have signed a statement demanding an end to political violence and human rights violations. The author of the statement now joins me from San Diego.

Mia Dragnic, sociologist; she has a Masters in Gender Studies and is a doctoral candidate in Latin American studies at the University of Chile. She is also a feminist militant in the Assembly of Doctoral Students at the University of Chile, visiting scholar to University of California at San Diego; Troy Kokinis, Lecturer in Latin American Studies at University of California San Diego.