MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

March for education reform in Santiago de Chile turns violent with 62 arrests

An estimated 50.000 marched downtown Santiago and clashed with the police

A haze of tear gas floated through the air, blending in with Santiago’s smog as the Chilean flag atop La Moneda sat in solitude with an occasional breeze. Lemon halves littered the streets as flying glass bottles shattered on the concrete.

Meanwhile, the Carabineros, Chile’s police force, pursued and arrested 62 protesters as an estimated 50,000 marched down Alameda in a national strike for education those leaders called a success.

“The march was an excellent call to action and developed in a mostly peaceful way,” Universidad Católica Student Federation (FEUC) President Giorgio Jackson told La Tercera.

But despite the success, Jackson also admitted that the protest had become more violent than those in the past.

“Many people failed to reach the stage when they had to retreat because of the water cannons,” Jackson said. “The situation does not surprise me because it’s happened in the rest of the demonstrations. Despite the fact that they start in a peaceful manner, they end in repression”.

Following the protest, the police reported that 34 officers had been injured in the melee. La Tercera reported that five officers remained in serious condition, five were mildly injured and the rest were still under evaluation.

Government spokesperson Ena von Baer denounced the violence and said the social leaders must take responsibility for the violence. She said the constant marches and subsequent violence are wasting valuable time on making progress.

 

“If we’re always going to end the marches in violence, why not get to work on the proposal made by President [Sebastián] Piñera?” von Baer told local press.

Piñera weighed in on the day’s protest following a meeting with his ministers.

“I’m convinced as the president of Chile that it’s time to end the violence, ‘tomas’ and strikes and rediscover a path to dialogue, agreements and action,” he said.

The students rejected the president’s approach earlier in the week at their Tuesday meeting with the Council of Rectors (CRUCH). The university rectors met with Piñera on Monday to find common ground on the president’s recently announced Gran Acuerdo Nacional de la Educacion GANE, reform plan.

Although the rectors and the president had begun to agree on certain topics on the four-part plan, students called the proposals insufficient and say they will keep demonstrating.

Linda Leon, 16, a junior at the Colegio Le Monde, was another victim of the post-rally chaos.

Leon and two friends were walking down Alameda with a banner that read “Soñamos con ser profesionales. Soñar cuesta caro,” which means “We dream of becoming professionals, but this dream is far too expensive.” A group of police surrounded the students and confiscated the banner.

Protesters hurried to the scene, screaming profanities and denouncing the police’s action. Leon, after chanting a police protest song, said the students wouldn’t keep quiet like the government wants them to.

“I believe the marches are absolutely necessary,” Leon said. “The government doesn’t know what the people want.”

By Nathan Frandino – The Santiago Times