SANTIAGO, Chile. Approximately 600,000 to 700,000 people took to downtown streets of Santiago, according to Luis Mesina, the leader of the "No + AFP" movement, as quoted by media outlets, to call for an end of the current Chilean pension system, known as AFPs.
However, the Chilean police, the "Carabineros", estimated the number of demonstrators at only 50,000, approximately, according to one newspaper in its website.
Many eyewitnesses stressed that the demonstration was not marred by vandalism against public or private property. In fact, news reports have emphasized that in Santiago the demonstration had an air of a family outing.
In Valparaiso, police estimated at 8,000 the crowd that marched in the streets to demand the end of AFPs.
And despite the rain, at least 2,000 people took to the streets in Concepción, Chile's third largest city, according to TV reports.
The current Chilean pension fund systems dates back to the government of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
The mastermind behind the system is one of the brothers of the former Chilean President Sebastian Piñera. Front-runner in the polls, Sebastian Piñera last Tuesday, March 21, launched his presidential campaign to be elected President of Chile for a second time.
The "No + AFP" is a grass roots movement that claims that the AFPs, which are the private companies that handle the pensions of Chilean workers, pay pensions that are only a third of the workers' last salaries. For that reason, the "No+ AFP" movement wants an overhaul of the current Chilean pension system.
This is the year's first "No + AFP" demonstration, and the fourth since the inception of the movement.
2017 is a presidential election year in Chile. It will be interesting to know how the presidential candidates approach the issue of the AFPs in their campaigns.
However, the Chilean police, the "Carabineros", estimated the number of demonstrators at only 50,000, approximately, according to one newspaper in its website.
Many eyewitnesses stressed that the demonstration was not marred by vandalism against public or private property. In fact, news reports have emphasized that in Santiago the demonstration had an air of a family outing.
In Valparaiso, police estimated at 8,000 the crowd that marched in the streets to demand the end of AFPs.
And despite the rain, at least 2,000 people took to the streets in Concepción, Chile's third largest city, according to TV reports.
The current Chilean pension fund systems dates back to the government of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
The mastermind behind the system is one of the brothers of the former Chilean President Sebastian Piñera. Front-runner in the polls, Sebastian Piñera last Tuesday, March 21, launched his presidential campaign to be elected President of Chile for a second time.
The "No + AFP" is a grass roots movement that claims that the AFPs, which are the private companies that handle the pensions of Chilean workers, pay pensions that are only a third of the workers' last salaries. For that reason, the "No+ AFP" movement wants an overhaul of the current Chilean pension system.
This is the year's first "No + AFP" demonstration, and the fourth since the inception of the movement.
2017 is a presidential election year in Chile. It will be interesting to know how the presidential candidates approach the issue of the AFPs in their campaigns.
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