Chile pulled out of hosting two major international summits Wednesday as it struggled to restore order after more than ten days of civil unrest that have left at least 20 dead. President Sebastian Pinera said "common sense" dictated the decision to withdraw from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and the Cop 25 climate change conference.
US President Donald Trump had said he was planning to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to lock down a "phase one" agreement at the November 16-17 APEC meeting that would partially have ended an 18-month trade war between the world's two biggest economies. A White House spokesman, Hogan Gidley, looked forward to finalizing a "phase one" agreement "within the same timeframe. APEC said it supported Chile's decision but gave no indication there would be a replacement summit this year, saying only that Malaysia would host the 2020 summit.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin had also been due to attend APEC, while teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was among 25,000 delegates expected for COP 25. After more than 10 days of street protests, however, Pinera said the South American nation was not in a position to host that gathering or the December 2-13 climate convention. "This has been a very difficult decision, a decision that has been deeply painful because we know exactly how important APEC and COP are for Chile and the world," said Pinera.
"When a father has problems, he must always prioritize his family over other options. The same goes for a president, he must always put his own compatriots first, ahead of any other considerations," he added. Chile is grappling with its worst social crisis in decades, one that shows little sign of abating despite Pinera announcing a raft of measures aimed at placating protesters. Demonstrators have demanded that the 69-year-old right-wing leader - whose personal fortune is estimated by Forbes at $2.8 billion - step down.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019
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