[ More than 200 protesters have been blinded by pellets fired by
state security agents. The National Congress has bowed to a key demand
of the monthlong rallies and ordered a referendum on a new
constitution.] [[link removed]]

HUNDREDS OF CHILEANS BLINDED BY POLICE SINCE PROTESTS BEGAN  
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November 15, 2019
DW.com (Deutsche Welle)
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_ More than 200 protesters have been blinded by pellets fired by
state security agents. The National Congress has bowed to a key demand
of the monthlong rallies and ordered a referendum on a new
constitution. _

Getty Images/AFP/C.Reyes // DW.com,

 

The principle medical organization in Chile announced Thursday that
well over 200 people have lost their sight, either partially or
completely, due to being shot by pellets fired by state security
agents during protests in the South American country.

Of those, at least 50 people will require prosthetic eyes said Dr.
Patricio Meza, vice president of the Medical College of Chile. "This
means that the patient doesn't only lose their vision, but they lose
their actual eye."

_Read more: _Chile: protests continue as currency takes a hit
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Additional statistics from the medical body showed that the average
age of victims is 30. In a large majority of the cases, the wound is
caused by the impact of a lead or rubber projectile on their eyes, the
Medical College confirmed.

"We are facing a real health crisis, a health emergency given that in
such few days, in three weeks, we have had the highest number of cases
involving serious ocular complications due to shots in the eye,"
Meza added.

The police "are firing at 90 degrees, which is to say, directly at the
face," said Meza.

 

Protesters seek cover from riot police wielding a baton. The latest
protest followed a short break in the wave of demonstrations in which
several people have died, forcing the cancellation of two upcoming
international summits.
Reuters/J.Silva  //  DW.com
REFERENDUM ON CONSTITUTION

More than 20 people have been killed and 2,500 injured
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the protests began on October 18 in what started out as a student
protest over an increase in subway fares
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However, it has since evolved into a much larger and broader
movement, with a lengthy list of demands that are related to the
ever-widening financial disparity between rich and less
well-off Chileans. Citizens are calling for reforms to health care,
education, the pension system, and the country's constitution.

Lawmakers in the National Congress on Thursday approved a pathway for
a new constitution to replace the current charter enacted by the
former military junta of Augusto Pinochet in 1980.

A referendum will be held in April on whether to proceed and voters
will decide how the new constitution should be drafted.

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