Chileans debate in the streets in 'first act of revolution' to determine their future

A police officer detains a demonstrator during a protest against Chile's government in Santiago, Chile November 5, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Harnessing the same energy that has galvanized millions of people to take to the streets in protest, a spectacle unseen since the bloody fight against a dictatorship three decades ago, Chileans have organised town halls to take the country's future into their own hands.

Neighbours who had scarcely spoken to one another prior to the breakout of unrest two weeks ago are now engaged in a profound debate about the political path they want to carve out for their country. It is a scene playing out in neighbourhoods across the country of 17 million.