An empty street in a commercial sector of Santiago, during a preventive quarantine following the outbreak of coronavirus disease , in Santiago, Chile, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Pablo Sanhueza
While Chile´s all-important mining sector has escaped the worst of both the protests and the coronavirus thus far, the value of top exports fruit, vegetables, salmon and forest products plunged in the first quarter, Customs data shows. Services and tourism have also tumbled. Chile closed its borders early in March, and large swaths of the capital Santiago, a city of 6 million people, have been locked down to halt the spread of the virus. Malls, schools, movie theaters and most non-essential services have been shuttered.
How not to protest: “The sharp drop in exports and rising unemployment follow months of protests over economic and social inequality that left behind billions in losses to businesses and destroyed public infrastructure across the country.”