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Chile Unrest Spreads, With 15 Deaths Reported in Violence

The protests started over a small transit fare increase, but have gained momentum over stagnant wages despite economic growth.

A demonstrator threw a gas canister back at the police on the fourth day of protests in Santiago, Chile.Credit...Tomas Munita for The New York Times

Pascale Bonnefoy and

SANTIAGO — The Chilean capital was virtually paralyzed on Monday as streets were blocked by protesters out for the fourth day in a row, subway stations that were ransacked remained shut, and stores, banks and schools were also shuttered.

The government sent out 10,500 soldiers and police officers to patrol the streets and calm protests that left at least 15 people dead.

The authorities tried to get the capital moving again by clearing debris and deploying hundreds of buses. But they could not stop clashes between demonstrators and police, and most workers stayed home.

The protests, which started over a small increase in transportation costs, have gained momentum and grown into an expression of deep anger that despite economic growth, wages have remained stagnant and people's lives have not improved.

Over the weekend, the situation escalated into Chile’s most serious political crisis since the country’s return to democracy in 1990 following the 17-year dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

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Protesters in Santiago ran for cover as the police launched tear gas on Monday.Credit...Miguel Arenas/Associated Press
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Helping a wounded protester during clashes with police.Credit...Miguel Arenas/Associated Press
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Riot police clashed with demonstrators as one protester, on his knees, waved a Chilean flag.Credit...Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images

President Sebastián Piñera, one of the nation’s wealthiest businessmen, appeared rattled on Friday night as he deployed the army around the capital and imposed a state of emergency that he later extended to other Chilean cities.

“We are at war against a powerful enemy, who is willing to use violence without any limits,” he said in a televised address from the Chilean Army’s headquarters in Santiago.

He blamed organized criminal groups for the violence.

The president’s remarks were widely viewed as incendiary, and on Monday, Gen. Javier Iturriaga, the national defense chief, who is also in charge of security around the Santiago metropolitan area, distanced himself from them.

“I’m not at war with anybody,’’ General Iturriaga said.

Mr. Piñera himself took to the airwaves Monday evening, telling his fellow citizens in a speech that he had been speaking with leaders of congress, mayors and others.

On Tuesday, he said, he will meet with political leaders, including members of the opposition, “to explore and advance toward a social agreement that may bring us closer to better solutions to the problems faced by Chileans.”

“This is the first step of a long road,” Mr. Piñera said.

The demonstrations started over a subway fare increase two weeks ago, which Mr. Piñera canceled on Saturday night. But his move failed to quell the wave of demonstrations, and on Monday protesters returned to the streets in defiance of the military.

“Everything has to burn,” said Alexis Toro, a 24-year-old student on his way to a demonstration on Monday. “The president announced he would wage war on the people, so he is getting his war.”

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Protestors looted and burned down a supermarket.Credit...Pedro Ugarte/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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The interior of a supermarket that had been burned and looted.Credit...Martin Bernetti/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Army troops guarded subway stations after many were ransacked or burned.

Chile had been a model of stability in the region for decades, with a solid economy and political parties of the center-left and the right alternating power through peaceful elections.

But in recent years, reduced demand for Chilean copper, rising oil prices and a stronger dollar have led to lower economic growth. Coupled with a deeply unequal distribution of wealth, this has resulted in growing disaffection.

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, a socialist and now the United Nations human rights chief, released a statement on Monday calling for a “profound examination of the wide range of socio-economic issues underlying the current crisis.’’

At least 11 people were killed in fires, including three at supermarkets that were looted on Sunday, and another five people who were found dead in a warehouse that had been burned, said government officials. In addition, one man was run over by a navy truck, two people were shot by the police or the army, and a fourth person was killed in circumstances that officials did not describe.

That brought the total number of deaths since Saturday to 15.

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A protestor blocked a blast from a hydrant truck.Credit...Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images
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Hundreds of demonstrators were detained in Santiago.Credit...Pablo Vera/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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At least 11 people have died in confrontations between the police and demonstrators.Credit...Javier Torres/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The under secretary of the interior, Rodrigo Ubilla, said Tuesday morning that 2,633 people had been arrested, and that 77 civilians and 134 members of the police and the army had been wounded.

The National Institute for Human Rights said on Monday that 88 people had been shot. The institute has filed 12 legal cases accusing the police and the army of torture and excessive use of force. The police were also accused of forcing women they arrested to strip naked in police stations.

After violent skirmishes on Sunday between demonstrators and the police filled Santiago’s Plaza Baquedano, a central landmark, an even more massive — but peaceful — demonstration assembled there on Monday. And thousands of demonstrators gathered again on Monday in Ñuñoa, a middle-class neighborhood, for the second day in a row.

Violent protests broke out in Santiago, as well as Valparaiso, Concepción and other cities, in some cases filling the streets with tear gas. Molotov cocktails exploded around the Court of Appeals in Concepción, south of the capital, and the slogan “We are no longer afraid” was painted in the city’s streets.

Fearing shortages, many people waited in long lines outside stores and gasoline stations.

The disturbances led at least two airlines to cancel or reschedule flights into Santiago. About 5,000 people were forced to stay overnight in the airport on Sunday because of canceled flights or suspensions of public transit into the city.

Transportation authorities said damages to the Santiago subway system would cost up to $300 million to repair.

The government imposed a curfew in Santiago for Monday night — the third night in a row.

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Chile’s demonstrations started over a small increase in transportation costs but have grown into protests over dissatisfaction with the country’s economy.Credit...Ivan Alvarado/Reuters

Clifford Krauss reported from Houston.

Clifford Krauss is a national energy business correspondent based in Houston. He joined The Times in 1990 and has been the bureau chief in Buenos Aires and Toronto. He is the author of “Inside Central America: Its People, Politics, and History.” More about Clifford Krauss

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 12 of the New York edition with the headline: 11 Are Dead As Chileans Overwhelm City Streets. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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