lo-de-alla.org

Priest calls for state of siege

[Translations of two articles from El Mostrador of Santiago for October 9 and 7. See original articles here and here and related articles here.]

Government claims student movement has been taken over by extremists

Press Secretary Andrés Chadwick charged on Sunday that the breakdown of talks is due to the Confederación de Estudiantes de Chile (Confech – Confederation of Students of Chile) being taken over by the most “extremist, intransigent and ideological” sectors of the student movement.

This was the executive branch response to the students’ decision to end talks with authorities on resolving the conflict, which has gone on for five months.

“It has become clear from statements made yesterday that Confech has been taken over and led by the most extreme, intransigent sectors, which will result in a student movement that is not concerned fundamentally with the question of education but with agitation,” the spokesman declared. (more…)

[Translations of two articles, the first from La Jornada of Mexico City, the second from El Mostrador of Santiago, Chile, both from July 1.  See originals here and here and related articles here.]

Hundreds of thousands of students demand education reforms
Confrontations with police result in 38 arrests, 20 injuries to cops

By Enrique Gutiérrez

Santiago, June 30 – In one of the largest demonstrations of the past 20 years, some 200,000 Chilean students rallied today at La Moneda, the  presidential palace, to demand reform in public education and to reject  privatization, resulting in isolated confrontations with the police, with at least 38 arrests and two dozen injuries to police officers, and a warning from the president, businessman Sebastián Piñera, that strikes and demonstrations will not improve the educational system.

“Un pueblo educado jamás será engañado” [“An educated people will never be deceived”], “Queremos educación pública gratuita y de calidad” [“We want free, quality education”] shouted the students, among whom were high school and university students as well as professors.  “We want the government to understand that this is a political movement, that what we are fighting for is better education,”  asserted student leader Camila Vallejos. (more…)

[Translations of articles from La Jornada of Mexico City and El Mostrador of Santiago, Chile, for May 12. See originals here and here.]

La Jornada

Thousands of youths reject privatization of education

By Enrique Gutiérrez

Santiago, May 12 – Some 25,000 Chilean students took to the streets of Santiago on Thursday and thousands more marched in other parts of the country to demand a strengthening of public higher education and rejection of privatization of education, and gave the rightist government of Sebastián Piñera until May 21 to repond to their demands.

After a peaceful beginning, the response of the police was to begin suddently to repress them with water cannons and tear gas, using the repressive measures of the ministry of the interior, which sparked encounters with the students that lasted for hours. (more…)