SANTIAGO, Chile — After a chaotic two days of violent protests and looting in Chile’s capital, the president suspended a subway fare hike that had set off an intense wave of unrest. Shortly afterward, a curfew was announced from 10 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday in Santiago, the capital.

What had begun as a protest by high school students quickly devolved on Friday into looting and arson in Santiago, prompting the president to declare a state of emergency in the city. Three people were killed in a supermarket fire in Santiago, officials said on Sunday.

On Saturday, as tanks watched over its landmark Plaza Baquedano, protests spread to a dozen other cities. In the capital, at least five subway stations and buses were set ablaze, while violent demonstrators looted supermarkets and pharmacies.

With several groups calling for a national strike on Monday, people feared much worse to come.

“The government hasn’t understood anything,” said Gabriela Muñoz, 40, a secretary. “You just need to scratch the surface to discover that people are fed up with so much abuse. This is happening because the government won’t listen.”