⁍ Thousands of Chileans gathered in the central square of the capital, Santiago, on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of mass protests over inequality.

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⁍ Last year’s demonstrations raged until mid-December as Chileans gathered nationwide to call for reforms to the pension, healthcare and education systems.

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⁍ The unrest, rioting and looting resulted in the military taking to the streets for the first time since the rule of dictator Augusto Pinochet.

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– Chile is marking the one-year anniversary of mass protests that left more than 30 dead and thousands injured by clanging pots, cheering, and chanting. Reuters reports that thousands gathered in the central square of Santiago on Sunday, clanging pots, cheering, and chanting to mark the one-year anniversary of mass protests over inequality that left more than 30 dead and thousands injured. Protesters gathered early in the day in largely peaceful rallies downtown under bright, cloudless skies of the Southern Hemisphere spring. Many signs and brightly colored homemade banners touted calling for a “yes” vote next Sunday in a referendum over whether to scrap the country’s dicatatorship-era Constitution, a key demand of the 2019 protests. Last year’s demonstrations, which began last Oct. 18, raged until mid-December as Chileans gathered nationwide to call for reforms to the pension, healthcare, and education systems. The unrest, rioting, and looting resulted in the military taking to the streets for the first time since the rule of Augusto Pinochet. By late afternoon on Sunday, Santiago’s Plaza Italia had begun to fill but the protest was markedly smaller, and more pacific, than the largest of last year’s rallies. Chile’s police, which have come under fire by human rights groups for their fierce response to the 2019 demonstrations, could be seen watching from the fringes of the square. Local media reported scattered incidents of violence, vandalism, and clashes with protesters throughout the day.