SANTIAGO - 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 Nov 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 finalising 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 Dec 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.
Public anger
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.
They have been angered by low salaries and pensions, poor public health care and education, and a yawning gap between rich and poor.
Pinera announced last week an increase in the minimum wage and pensions as well as measures to alleviate sky high health care costs and a streamlining of public offices.
On Monday, he reshuffled his cabinet for the third time since coming to power in March 2018, but the street movement continues.
Protests began on Oct 18 and during the first few days there was widespread destruction, arson and looting. Twenty people died in the violence.
Demonstrations have been largely calm over the last week but on Tuesday police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters, some of whom threw rocks.
Violent clashes between demonstrators and security services also broke out on Monday, when shops were looted and a building set on fire.
"It's not about people who want social justice, who want things to be better, they are people who want destruction, chaos," said Karla Rubilar, the government's new spokeswoman.
She had previously earned praise from the governor of Santiago for her sympathetic response to protesters.
A mission led by the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet -- Chile's former president -- is expected to open a probe later this week into allegations of police brutality.
Justice and Human Rights Minister Hernan Larrain admitted on Tuesday that the government recognized that some incidents involving law enforcement during the protests "appear to be human rights violations."
Amnesty International's tactical campaign and crisis response chief Cesar Marin said the organization -- which is investigating more than 100 complaints of police abuse -- is especially concerned about charges of "sexual torture," reports of eye injuries and situations in which police or military action directly led to a death.