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Comment by wallflower | Hacker News Reader

I think at this point we can agree that a subway price hike leading to tanks in the street a mere week later is not the true issue. Something about privatized pension companies taking way more than what would be their fair share is the likely culprit.

https://protectpensions.org/2016/08/23/chile-failure-privati...

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You’re linking to a left-wing organization. But you’re ignoring the fact that, just two years ago, a decisive majority of Chilean voters (55-45) voted in the center-right, pro-market party and Presidential candidate: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/17/chileans-cast-...

> Months of campaigning exposed deepening rifts among the country’s once bedrock centre left, an opening former president Piñera leveraged to rally more centrist voters around his proposals to cut corporate taxes, double economic growth and eliminate poverty in the world’s top copper producer.

The current President ran on corporate tax cuts and won. The majority obviously did not do so under the belief that Piñera was going to nationalize the pension system. The protestors evidently are mad about that.

Voter participation was 50%. Decisive indeed.

That’s not atypical for elections in Switzerland, Japan, or the US. That doesn’t invalidate the outcome of elections.

> just two years ago, a decisive majority of Chilean voters (55-45) voted in the center-right, pro-market party and Presidential candidate

Sounds similar to Frances Emmanuel Macron. Yellow vests are still at it, almost full year of riots in the heart of Europe and nothing changed.

The culprit is unequal distribution of wealth. The working class is affected by low minimum wage, limited access to healthcare, cost of education, and broken social security (AFP).

It's supposed to be about cost of living, increase in energy prices, etc. Not sure if the pension system is related. But pension systems have always been dubious in my mind. 401Ks + social security have seemed to be the best of both worlds.

No+AFP (No more AFP) is a common graffiti in Chile, and also a common protest banner during the past week. Measures regarding an increase in pensions were also among the promises of the president on Monday 10/21.

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