A reported 139 people were arrested in Chile’s capital on Thursday as protesters were evicted from three schools that they were occupying.
During the high school occupations, referred to as ‘tomas’ (Spanish for ‘takeovers’), students refused to leave the premises of the establishments and were received with tear gas and pressurised water hoses.
The recent occupation of eight schools came after student representatives rejected proposals that classes continue, made by the city mayor, Pablo Zalaquett. The representatives of the schools told reporters that the point of the ‘tomas’ would be lost if classes were to continue.
The president of the Student Federation of Universidad de Chile (FECH) told the press that the students do not enjoy occupying the schools, but insisted that their demands were fair.
“We know that the struggle is hard and often has costs, but we believe that if we do not try the cost for Chile will be much higher,” he added.
Some of the other demands of the students include increased minimum wage in order to live while in school as well as free tuition.
“I think access to education is a human right. They (the government) have not offered us anything that is concrete enough to stop the occupations,” student Darío Del Valle, told The Santiago Times.
Mayor Zalaquett defended the recent forced evictions of four of the eight schools as he believed the students were going to call reinforcements and escalate in violence.
“My role is to guarantee education for the thousands of students who just want to study,” he told reporters.
Students are also protesting the controversial “Hinzpeter Law” which proposes to increase punishment for unauthorised protests and occupations. The law, named after the Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter, would mean that any occupation of public property would be deemed criminal and violators could see up to three years in prison.
On Tuesday, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and Acción (an association of Chilean NGOs) protested saying that the proposed law will infringe on the freedom of assembly.
To date, the bill has been approved by the Civil Security Committee in the country’s Chamber of Deputies and it will soon be debated.
So far, students have not shown signs of halting their protests. Currently, the only other school that was scheduled for Thursday’s eviction, Barros Borgoño, remains occupied.
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