MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Buenos Aires high schools seized by protesting students

Acuña intends to prosecute the families of children making demands

High-school students in Buenos Aires have taken over 11 of the city's public schools in demand of changes in the curricula and citing “political persecution.”

Among the children's exigences are nutritional quality meals, better building infrastructure, and the suppression of mandatory unpaid internships at private companies.

Parents of the students taking part in the measures have been served police notes following formal complaints filed by Buenos Aires City education authorities.

Student groupings are holding overnight stays until Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) Education Minister Soledad Acuña sits with them to discuss the 2023 education budget and opens up a dialogue table on the mandatory unpaid labor practices and improves food supply, spokespersons for the Coordinadora de Estudiantes de Base (CEB) told reporters.

Except for 2020 and 2021 when there were no on-site classes, most Buenos Aires high school students have to put up with these measures from their most belligerent classmates who belong to unions opposing the Government. In this case, the Macrist administration of CABA Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta.

In 2017, the then-teenager Ofelia Fernández led the protests at the Carlos Pellegrini school, which ironically does not fall under CABA jurisdiction since it reports directly to the University of Buenos Aires and therefore to the federal government. More than 20 high schools joined the protests those years. Fernández was elected CABA councilwoman (Deputy) at age 18. For a federal Congress MP seat, a minimum age of 25 is required.

This year's takeover was promoted through a document headed “Takeover of schools” which was spread ”to make the problems we have been having and at the same time the model of education we want (sic) visible.”

Acuña announced that the city government had criminally denounced the parents of the students who carried out the takeovers. In 2018, 40 families were prosecuted. The minister argues that the measure of force is stoked by Kirchnerism.