Roberto Jorquera
On May 31, Associated Press reported that for a second day Santiago police sprayed water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters supporting a nationwide strike by high-school students demanding a national government takeover of Chile's education system with the aim of reducing inequality between rich and poor schools.
AP reported that the previous day "police violently suppressed student protests in the capital, with television images showing police beating at least three reporters", and making 725 arrests.
Reuters reported that "Santiago's main avenue was closed all afternoon and into the evening as protesters regrouped after repeated bouts of tear gas and water cannons".
Later on May 31, President Michelle Bachelet sacked the commander of the Santiago riot police, Colonel Osvaldo Jara. Police violence against protesters "was outrageous, unjustified", Bachelet told a brief news conference.
AP reported that on May 30, "more than 600,000 public school students took to the streets" of cities across Chile nationwide". While protesters marched in the capital, students in Valparaiso, Concepcion and other cities held demonstrations and university students stayed away from classes in sympathy.
"Students at elite private schools — including the school Bachelet's youngest daughter attends — went to school but held solidarity events on Tuesday instead of classes", Reuters reported.
For more than two weeks, high-school students throughout Chile have been demonstrating to demand a better and more equitable education system. They are demanding free transportation to school, free university entrance exams, and, more importantly, serious modifications to the Organic Constitutional Law for Education (LOCE) which was issued by Pinochet in March 1990, a day before he relinquished power to a civilian government.
Under the LOCE, high-school education is the responsibility of local municipalities. Though the national government directs funds to the municipalities, most of those funds never reach the schools. This has created massive inequality within the system.
"We are protesting on behalf of our school. The bathrooms are disgusting, you can't even take a shower in the locker room, and they don't do anything about it", Bernardo Ferrada, 15, his nose and eyes burning from tear gas, was quoted by Reuters as saying on May 30.
"Bachelet is highly popular and her centre-left coalition has been in power for 16 years in Chile, one of Latin America's wealthiest countries", Reuters reported. "But students say schools should be seeing more government funding at a time when profit from high-priced copper, Chile's main export, has handed the government billions of dollars in budget surpluses."
From Green Left Weekly, June 7, 2006.
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