Tear gas and water cannons in Santiago as conservative leaders meet

Santiago, Chile witnessed a volatile mix of protest and diplomacy on Wednesday as the city hosted the Madrid Forum, a gathering of conservative political leaders. While Chilean President José Antonio Kast welcomed his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei, at the La Moneda presidential palace, streets outside saw clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.

Protesters, including student groups, marched against right-wing policies and what they termed "corporate governance." The demonstration turned confrontational, with some individuals throwing stones at police. Riot officers responded by deploying tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds, leading to several detentions.

Inside the forum, President Milei used his address to call for a unified international front among conservative movements. He argued that the political left has organized regionally to "subjugate" nations, and urged the right to coordinate a global response to counter socialist influence.

Milei’s speech also referenced Chile's economic history, praising the period of stability and growth that followed the 1973 coup against President Salvador Allende. He framed this era as a lesson in the benefits of market-oriented policies, while cautioning against the resurgence of leftist politics in the region.

The reference to the Pinochet dictatorship, which ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, is historically fraught. That period was marked by the brutal suppression of dissent, with thousands killed, tortured, or forced into exile. Pinochet later died in 2006 without facing trial for these human rights abuses.