MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Violent clashes in Santiago as students-government negotiations break down
Chilean students marched in downtown Santiago Thursday, clashing with police and blocking traffic for much of the day, after negotiations with the government over education reforms broke down. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesI seem to remember Argies denouncing the riots in England and claiming that protests in South America were now only peaceful. Just proves how full of it they really are.
Oct 07th, 2011 - 11:39 am - Link - Report abuse 0The only reason there is no bloodshed in Arg is because most of the protets are organized by CFK. They allow them to destroy pubic property and the private property of their enemies. Most of the protests are gov't sponsored, the only one I remember that was big was when a nice white kid from the suburbs was kidnapped and killed. I think his name was Axel. The father at first held vigils then the crowds grew and grew. He was going to run for office and since he had a real grass roots populous base Nestor had him destroyed. They ruined him politically, financially and I am sure physically threatened him and his family.
Oct 07th, 2011 - 01:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0In Arg these protests are all political theater with most of the protesters bused in, given a choripan and a beer to cheer or destroy on CFK or her minion's whim. It is a crock. The problem is sometimes they get out of control, like when the economy starts to falter, so she better already have a house in Miami to flee to and keep the helicopters ready at Casa Rosada because it is not too far off now.
Pretty Camila Vallejo is becoming more and more a bourgeois specimen.
Oct 07th, 2011 - 01:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0She needs to be sent urgently to Cuba for a re-education session!
Philippe
@2 Certainly I know a chap working for a government institution who is regularly sent to locations to protest and told what to shout. He doesn't understand it or want to do it but he does want to keep his job.
Oct 07th, 2011 - 01:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Last time I was in BsAs - just a few months back - the hotel where I was staying was attacked and damaged by a mob. The Argentine hotel staff were also attacked but no one seemed to know why. I was escorted out of a back entrance to a waiting car to take me to the airport - very dramatic. Mostly I remember how embarrassed the Argentines were about the behaviour of the mob.
Regarding Chile, I support the improvement of the education system because it is heavily weighted against poor students. Improvements in education lifts the whole country and its' ability to grow and prosper.
Many school owners are making a lot of money and providing sub-standard education in return. I saw an the island home of one of these owners and I had to suppress the urge to sink all three of his boats.
But no government can be seen to give into violence. It is the wrong method and the students will lose support.
4 ElaineB , “Regarding Chile, I support the improvement of the education”
Oct 07th, 2011 - 03:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0How would you do that? You can't speak the language nor you understand the people down here.
Would you want to be a stuck up rich English girl flying first class or a girl who loves the outdoors and lives an average life. Get off your rich throne and
change your superiority attitude, you are not better than anyone else.
Great job Camila!
I think you will find that Elaine is at least bi-lingual, unless I'm very much mistaken, and she would be very able to 'support the improvement of (Chile's) education' by using her undoubted skills in report-writing to best advantage.
Oct 07th, 2011 - 07:07 pm - Link - Report abuse 0For instance, I watched today the BBC World Service report on the violence in Chile; whoever prepared the air-time and comment had certainly been briefed by one such as her.
Elaine may be a stringer, a freelance or an employee (or something entirely different);
if earning enough, or an employee, she could well be flying Executive Class. And what's wrong with that? Nothing.
Also , Marcos, you say that “she is not better than anybody else”.
She may not be better than everybody else, but she is certainly 'better than' a very large number of people.
Better that you define 'better than what, better at what, etc'
but be careful; once you define it, you may well find that she is 'better' than you.
Dare we say it,
Oct 07th, 2011 - 07:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The domino effect, if it can happen in North Africa in an Arab spring,
Let’s hope we don’t get a South American winter,
Does south America have many dictators, that may need changing ?
just a thought .
@ 5 “How would you do that? You can't speak the language nor you understand the people down here.” #5 wants to help the Palestinians and he doesn't speak arabic but he tells other people what to do :)
Oct 07th, 2011 - 10:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Would you want to be a stuck up rich English girl flying first class or a girl who loves the outdoors and lives an average life. Get off your rich throne and
change your superiority attitude, you are not better than anyone else.” hahaha you are full of resentment, you hate elaine because you know she's a good person and you wish she was like you full of hatred and resentment. You're right, she´s superior and you are inferior. While this lady flies around the world, you stay in front of your computer all day lonely and stupid old man.
I love when these losers like #5 show their real face instead of acting like they are all secure and calm :)
“Great job Camila” yeah, great job Camila, you're gonna get nothing from this.
Bleed bleed bleed #5 :)
If I were Piñera I'd do what must be done, put them to rest. Those need law and order.
Marta Lagos(Chile)
Oct 08th, 2011 - 06:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0“@xBarilox Lo correcto toma años de civilizacion. Yo tb voto por lo correcto”
She doesn't need your vote...الأحمق
@6. I think you will understand perfectly why I do not reveal the exact nature of my work. : )
Oct 08th, 2011 - 12:01 pm - Link - Report abuse 0There is no doubt the education system in Chile needs reform. Chileans have spoken about it for years, way before the recent protests. I recently visited a foundation in Santiago that sponsors students through university. We talked at length about the inequality of the system and the poor standards of free education available to the majority of students. This is a key issue for the development of the country.
A more educated workforce is essential to make businesses more competitive. More and better education is also the single most important tool in creating equality of opportunity.
You have to look further into the recent history of Chile to understand why reform, which would benefit the whole country, is being heavily politicised and undermined by both sides of the political spectrum.
Reform still has majority support but the more the violence continues the less appetite people will have for it.
Thanks, Elaine,
Oct 08th, 2011 - 12:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I'm beginning to piece together a more 'on-the-ground' picture of the declared problem and the underlying condition.
Some posters here are helping me re-balance the BBC/CNN/Mercopress perspectives.
Often it is the things that people do not say (for a variety of reasons) that are the key to an understanding - once you can find a way to win their perspectives.
I am modifying my position, helped by you, Sergio, and one or two others.
But it would certainly help to have a bigger and wider set of opinions than are offered here on Mercopress.
Geoff, I am certain you have a much more in depth understanding of the mechanics of reforming an education system. I very much enjoyed the report on education in Brazil.
Oct 08th, 2011 - 02:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0In the case of Chile, the education system is strongly linked to social class.
Each country is unique but in Chile one's name and background can set your path in life. This information is used to 'place' a person. (The Chileans have a word for it that eludes me for now). This social structure is mirrored in the education system and perpetuates the status quo.
Reforming the education system to allow more equal opportunity would be the first step to breaking down the barriers for social mobility and more equal distribution of wealth. And that in itself is devisive.
It does not help that there is huge distrust (and dare I say hatred) between the left and right of politics.
(6) GeoffWard
Oct 08th, 2011 - 02:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You say:
”I think you will find that Elaine is at least bi-lingual, unless I'm very much mistaken, and she would be very able to 'support the improvement of (Chile's) education' by using her undoubted skills in report-writing to best advantage.”
I say:
Suuuure…, suuure…....................… She is a very important person…
Permit me to scuttle away in horror, ewh… ewh….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=FNmBauXYzgc
Camila is doing a good job. If you take a good look at the Chilean educational system that tries hard to claim that it's so great, you will find out yourself that it's total failure. Pinera has the opportunity to fix it for it's people, but fact is, he isn't interested to solve that problem, because it's corporate president, from the begin he took office.
Oct 08th, 2011 - 04:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I wouldn't call it a total failure because it serves some students very well. The problem is that it is weighted against the underclass.
Oct 08th, 2011 - 04:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0This is not a recent problem. People were complaining about it under the last government, and the one before. It might be worth considering why it has become a huge issue now when it has been a problem for decades.
“it serves some students very well” Friend of yours?
Oct 08th, 2011 - 04:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0here is not only Chile problem .....we see that all other countries
Oct 08th, 2011 - 05:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0have similair education problems...we see that the parasite private
schools sectors have derivated since 1980.th years... we know that
this storm has been imposed by World Bank to all emerging countries..
we know that the intentions to hold up /control the target countries
by way of few elites who educated in the casted private schools system...
we know that the intentions to hold up/control the target youth who
want to jump social class by private schools tools under the debit of them.
(10) Correcting ElaineB’s “Fleur de Rhétorique”
Oct 08th, 2011 - 05:44 pm - Link - Report abuse 0She says:
“Reform still has majority support but the more the violence continues the less appetite people will have for it.”
I say:
Reform has a huge majoritarian support and the more the Government Violence continues the more appetite people will have for it.
So Camila demands that private education be abolished. At the same time she complains about the bad Government education. So - destroy what is good so that everything can be mediocre. That is equal non-opportunity for all. Wow logical hey! Go Camila!
Oct 11th, 2011 - 06:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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