Chile anniversary rallies turn violent as churches burned, police fire tear gas

A riot police officer detains a demonstrator as they clash during a protest against Chile's government, on the one-year anniversary of the protests and riots that rocked the capital in 2019, in Santiago, Chile, October 18, 2020. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

Tens of thousands of Chileans gathered in the central square of Santiago to mark the one-year anniversary of mass protests that leftover 30 dead and thousands injured, with peaceful rallies on Sunday devolving by nightfall into riots and looting.

People gathered early in the day in demonstrations downtown and in cities throughout Chile that gained size and fervour through the evening. Many touted signs and rainbow coloured homemade banners calling for a “yes” vote next Sunday in a referendum over whether to scrap the country’s dictatorship-era Constitution, a key demand of the 2019 protests.