The World - News from Aug. 22, 1988

An estimated 30,000 youths in Santiago, Chile, waved banners and chanted anti-government slogans at the first major opposition rally in the campaign leading to a fall plebiscite to determine the future of the nation’s military regime. Demonstrators at the peaceful rally demanded the ouster of President Augusto Pinochet, 72, who has ruled Chile since a 1973 coup. Gen. Pinochet is expected to be the ruling military junta’s candidate in the Oct. 5 plebiscite. If a majority of those participating in the plebiscite vote in favor of the junta’s candidate, Chile would remain under military rule for at least eight more years. A “no” vote would lead to an open election next year. The rally brought together diverse groups, from Christian Democrats to armed Communists who wore bandannas to hide their faces.