South America

SANTIAGO, Nov 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Violent protests broke out in Chile’s capital Santiago as the country’s currency dropped to a historic low after weeks of mass street demonstrations that have left the South American country in crisis.

Clashes broke out between protesters demanding the resignation of President Sebastian Pinera and security forces close to the presidential palace.

Some 80,000 people took to the streets of Santiago as 100 organisations called a general strike.

BUENOS AIRES, November 13. /TASS/: Protesters threw stones at the residence of the Argentine ambassador in Chile's capital on Tuesday. Argentina's Ambassador to Chile Jose Octavio Bordon said that no one was injured in the incident.

"They have already been trying for half an hour to enter the territory of the residence, and they are throwing stones at the building," Bordon told the Clarin newspaper.

The ambassador said that protesters set on fire a restraurant near the diplomatic residence.

LA PAZ/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The head of Bolivia’s Senate, Jeanine Anez, took office as interim president on Tuesday as former leader Evo Morales pledged to keep up his political fight from exile in Mexico after resigning in what he has alleged was a coup.

Anez, 52, assumed leadership before other lawmakers in Congress, invoking a constitutional clause that dictates that she would be next in line to rule after Morales and his vice president, Alvaro Garcia, resigned on Sunday.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivians have new uncertainty to grapple with now that opposition Sen. Jeanine Añez declared herself interim president of the crisis-torn Andean country just hours after Evo Morales flew off to self-exile in Mexico.

Questions remained about who might rally around Añez, while Morales’ supporters angrily accused her of trying to seize power in her declaration Tuesday, raising the prospect of more troubles following weeks of clashes over the disputed Oct. 20 presidential election.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia faced its worst unrest in decades amid a political vacuum Tuesday, while Evo Morales, who transformed the Andean nation as its first indigenous president, fled the country following weeks of violent protests.

Morales flew out on a Mexican government plane late Monday hours after being granted asylum as his supporters and foes fought on the streets of the capital while an opposition leader tearfully laid out a possible path toward new elections in the wake of the president’s resignation.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The latest on the political crisis in Bolivia (all times local):

11:55 p.m.

The United Nations says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned about the situation in Bolivia, where Evo Morales resigned the presidency Sunday after weeks of protests over a disputed election.

Spokesman Stephane Dujarric says in a Spanish-language statement that Guterres “urges all relevant parties to refrain from violence, reduce tensions and exercise maximum restraint.”

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — President Evo Morales resigned Sunday under mounting pressure from Bolivia’s military and the public after his re-election victory triggered weeks of fraud allegations and deadly protests.

The decision came after a day of fast-moving developments, including an offer from Morales to hold a new election. The crisis deepened dramatically when the country’s military chief went on national television to call on the president to step down.

Sao Bernardo do Campo (Brazil), Nov 10; AFP/GANASHAKTI: Brazil's left-wing leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to his trade union stronghold on Saturday, delivering a fiery speech to throngs of celebrating supporters a day after walking free from jail.

Reveling in the adoration of his followers at the metalworkers' union he once led, Lula attacked his arch-nemesis President Jair Bolsonaro, who hours earlier had called him a "scoundrel," and those who jailed him last year for corruption.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Police guards outside Bolivia’s presidential palace abandoned their posts Saturday, increasing pressure on President Evo Morales as he seeks to curb nationwide unrest after a disputed election.

Officers also climbed onto the roof of a nearby police station holding Bolivian flags and signs proclaiming “The Police with the People.” Police retreated to their barracks in at least three cities, and there were reports that some in two cities were openly declaring mutinies.

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 9 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — Hundreds of Argentine teachers are leading a strike, with protests in several cities, in solidarity with several colleagues repressed during a demonstration in the province of Chubut.

Both public and private schools were closed Friday, as from the early hours members of the Confederation of Education Workers (CTERA), one of the largest unions in the country, rallied in several areas.