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Tens of thousands march in Chile for better
schools
Wednesday August 29, 2012 07:47:50 PM,
EFE
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Santiago: Tens of
thousands of students and their supporters packed the streets of
this capital Tuesday for a march to demand improvements to Chile's
poorly funded public education system.
The demonstration saw far fewer clashes with police than last
week's student protests in Santiago.
"The march has been significant in the number of people who have
mobilized and because it has taken place without major disruptions
to public order," government spokesman Andres Chadwick said.
Convened by organizations representing high school and university
students, the march was also supported by educators, grassroots
groups and labour unions.
Chilean students took to the streets in large numbers more than 40
times in 2011 to denounce a highly stratified education system
that funnels state subsidies to private institutions even as
public schools in poor areas struggle.
The protests have continued this year, but Tuesday's mobilization
was the first of 2012 to enjoy official backing from teachers and
professors unions and other elements of organized labor.
This latest march unfolded in a festive atmosphere and culminated
with a concert in Santiago's Blanco Encalada neighbourhood.
Smaller demonstrations took place Tuesday in other Chilean cities,
including Concepcion, Temuco, Punta Arenas, Valparaiso, Vina del
Mar and Antofagasta.
"Today there is a majority of the people who are fighting for a
common goal, which is to recover our right to public, free and
quality education for all Chileans," the vice president of the
Chile Students Federation, Camila Vallejo, told the media.
The largely peaceful march on Tuesday came after weeks of protests
that included student occupations of Santiago high schools
punctuated by police operations to evict the occupiers.
Chile's public schools and universities were neglected by the
1973-1990 dictatorship of the late Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who
embraced doctrinaire free market policies.
Private schools mushroomed under the military regime and the trend
continued after democracy was restored, even during the 1990-2010
tenure of the center-left Concertacion coalition.
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