This week saw major stories in many newspapers about the growth of protests and riots throughout the world. The Guardian published a detailed expose’ of protests in Hong Kong, Paris, Chile, Iraq, Ecuador and elsewhere which suggested the root cause of all these protests was young populations angry about “income inequality.” Reuters published a detailed report about the deadly riots in Chile, blaming the riots on “entrenched inequality.”
Hardly a word in any mainstream news story mentioned THE BIGGEST CAUSE of the Chilean riots–which have drawn about a million Chileans into the streets: climate taxes.
Chile is hosting a major U.N. climate conference in December, and its government has been positioning the South American country for attention as a climate action showpiece. The Chilean government recently imposed a carbon tax and switched its Metro transport system to renewable power.
“Now,” according to the Epoch Times, “the people of Chile are rising up and firing a shot across the bow of other nations considering similar energy taxes and expensive renewable energy programs.”
On Friday, protesters took to the streets throughout Santiago in response to Metro fare hikes. The protests soon spread to other cities and led to rioting and at least five reported deaths. The Chilean government and the legacy media blamed the fare hikes on rising oil prices. But that is not true.
Not only have oil prices NOT risen; they have dropped. But Chilean bus and train fares have risen because the government switched the bus and train systems to wind and solar power–and hiked fares accordingly.
Carbon taxes and “climate” regulations fall disproportionately on the poor.
“For U.N. officials planning the 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) climate conference, scheduled for the first two weeks of December in Santiago, the protests are especially embarrassing.”
“The Chilean protests, like the Yellow Vest protests that erupted in France a year ago, highlight how out of touch the international climate class is with the people they seek to govern and control.”
