2019 was a year characterized by social explosion. In the 30 years since the return to democracy, the country has never faced a crisis like last October. Chilean society questioned the political system and, for the first time in many years, citizens organized themselves and demanded an end to years of the government ignoring education, health and pensions and a new constitution.
At the beginning of October 2019 massive demonstrations - both peaceful and violent – took place. looting and the burning of emblematic buildings led President Sebastián Piñera to declare a state of emergency and to delegate the protection of public order to the Armed Forces, reviving the ghosts of the dictatorship and, therefore, leading to an intensification of the demonstrations.
March 2020 came, and people took to the streets again, amidst heavy repression. This was the context when the global coronavirus crisis emerged. Piñera's government was no longer just facing an internal social crisis but a global health crisis as well.
