Protesters demonstrated against the military government that took control after the protests that toppled the old leader. Many say that they simply took over to take power for themselves, not to pass the reforms that people wanted. The response towards protests has only validated the opinion that the military dictatorship will not cooperate with the people.
Thousands of protesters returned to Ica in celebration of the removal of the Chlimper law, an anti-labor and deregulating law passed in October 2000. Sporadic blockades continued for higher wages, but after clashes with police, the majority of striking workers and occupiers went home, as their main demand had been met by the government.
Protesters took to the streets in Santiago on the anniversary of the murder of Communist Revolutionary and singer Victor Jara by the US-backed fascist Pinochet regime. Victor Jara, a militant of the Chilean communist party, was arrested after the US-backed far-right coup against Salvador Allende and brutally tortured until being shot 44 times by regime forces on the 16th.
Dozens of protesters in Patras gathered at Georgiou Square in solidarity with hunger striker Dimitris Koufontinas, a former member of the revolutionary November 17 militant group that carried out attacks on American, British, and military assets in Greece; Koufontinas entered a hunger strike on 8 January to demand his transfer to the Korydallos prison in Athens.
Protesters in Naameh, a majority Sunni Muslim city in Lebanon, took to the streets demanding the resignation of the government over its failure to handle hyperinflation and soaring gas prices. Demonstrators blocked roads using barricades and burning tires, pressuring the authorities to act with competence.
