Thousands flooded the streets of Santiago for a general strike on Wednesday, upping the pressure on Chilean President Sebastien Pinera after days of social unrest that left 18 dead.

Students, professors and state workers walked off the job at the urging of the country’s largest union, ignoring a package of measures announced by Pinera aimed at quelling the violence.

In the capital Santiago, police used water cannons to disperse protesters.

“Chile has awakened,” read the sign of one protester – a slogan that has been popular since the protests against social and economic woes, and a yawning gap between rich and poor, began last week.

The country has experienced its worst violence in decades since protests against a now-scrapped hike in metro fares escalated dramatically on Friday.

A four-year-old child and a man were killed on Tuesday when a drunk driver rammed into a crowd of demonstrators, Interior Undersecretary Rodrigo Ubilla said.

A third person died after being beaten by police, according to the victim’s family.

Armed forces announced a curfew for the fifth day running, although, at just six hours, Wednesday night’s was the shortest since being introduced.