The students aim to change the system’s unequal foundations, which provide education to those who can afford it. This is a direct heritage of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. As a result of this they are demanding the state to guarantee quality and equal education for all.

The students reject Piñera’s administration proposals, since they consider they fail to provide real solutions. These proposals consist in increasing education funds to four billion dollars, improving the amount for grants and reducing the interest rates of students credits managed by banks.

The protests reached a turning point on Thursday, when students and teachers organized a demonstration – without the government’s authorization- that led to harsh repression by the military police, leaving 874 people under arrest – many of them were underage- in the protests in downtown Santiago and other Chilean cities.

International human rights agencies considered the use of police force was excessive, as well as the use of water cannons and tear gases to crush the demonstration. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (ICHR) told Piñera’s administration about its concern over the disproportionate use of force against students during the demonstrations.

But instead of feeling intimidated by the use of force, the demonstrators organized a new demonstration on Sunday in Santiago, with a turnout of over 20,000 people. The march was called by the Metropolitan Coordinator of High-School Students, the Parents and Agents Group and Chile’s Professor’s Guild.

After the success of this new mobilization, the students and professors called another protest measure for next Tuesday: this time a national strike.

Photo: http://www.prensa-latina.cu