SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Clashes Erupt in Chile in Latest Protest for Education Reform
Students demand quality education accessible to all
Aug 09, 2012
Clashes erupted Wednesday between police and protesters in the Chilean capital of Santiago resulting in the arrest of 75, the latest in ongoing demonstrations for education reform.
"We are here to protest for free education," a human rights observer told The Santiago Times. "Here in Chile there is still a lot of inequality. There is a lot of wealth, but wrongly distributed. The rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer."
Police reacted to the protesters with tear gas and water cannons while some of the protesters set fire to buses.
"I deeply regret what is happening today in the streets of Santiago, but the government is responsible for this because of its indolence and silence to all the proposals of the student movement," Gabriel Boric, president of the University of Chile student federation, told local TV.
Students say the education reforms proposed by Chile's President Sebastian Pinera fail to fix the system of largely privatized education, poor quality education and expensive private universities. Protesters demand high-quality education that is accessible to all.
* * *
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Clashes erupted Wednesday between police and protesters in the Chilean capital of Santiago resulting in the arrest of 75, the latest in ongoing demonstrations for education reform.
"We are here to protest for free education," a human rights observer told The Santiago Times. "Here in Chile there is still a lot of inequality. There is a lot of wealth, but wrongly distributed. The rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer."
Police reacted to the protesters with tear gas and water cannons while some of the protesters set fire to buses.
"I deeply regret what is happening today in the streets of Santiago, but the government is responsible for this because of its indolence and silence to all the proposals of the student movement," Gabriel Boric, president of the University of Chile student federation, told local TV.
Students say the education reforms proposed by Chile's President Sebastian Pinera fail to fix the system of largely privatized education, poor quality education and expensive private universities. Protesters demand high-quality education that is accessible to all.
* * *
Clashes erupted Wednesday between police and protesters in the Chilean capital of Santiago resulting in the arrest of 75, the latest in ongoing demonstrations for education reform.
"We are here to protest for free education," a human rights observer told The Santiago Times. "Here in Chile there is still a lot of inequality. There is a lot of wealth, but wrongly distributed. The rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer."
Police reacted to the protesters with tear gas and water cannons while some of the protesters set fire to buses.
"I deeply regret what is happening today in the streets of Santiago, but the government is responsible for this because of its indolence and silence to all the proposals of the student movement," Gabriel Boric, president of the University of Chile student federation, told local TV.
Students say the education reforms proposed by Chile's President Sebastian Pinera fail to fix the system of largely privatized education, poor quality education and expensive private universities. Protesters demand high-quality education that is accessible to all.
* * *
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.