In Santiago last week, a student protest against a 14% hike in bus fares turned into ugly rioting over the cost of living. The rioters even tried to rush La Moneda, the presidential palace, but tear gas held them off until palace guards could slam shut the great wooden doors.
Convalescing after a minor operation, President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla got the bulletins at his seaside home in Viña del Mar. An old hand at tackling crises, he ordered his plane made ready for the short flight to the capital, returned to La Moneda on the second day of the rioting.
Gonzalez gave...
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