Thousands of Chileans protested in new demonstrations in Santiago yesterday over university fees. The student organised march was the second this year opposing new government funding policies for the education sector.
According to students, around 100,000 people participated in the protests, yet police reported only 20,000 attended. Police reported that 150 people were arrested in what was a mainly a peaceful march aside from scattered violence from suspected “encapuchados,” who have previously incited violence at student protests.
The protest, headed by Confederation of University Students of Chile (Confech), started in one the capital’s main squares, and ended two hours later outside the Estación Mapocho, where organiser Gabriel Boric gave a speech.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the government, we are going to be disobedient and we are going to keep being rebellious, because the student movement doesn’t conform to the corrections that you make,” said Boric, who is the president of Student Federation of Universidad de Chile (FECH). “We want to transform everything and we aren’t going to let up until this system changes.”
“We are convinced that education is a social right that must be guaranteed by the state,” he proclaimed later in an interview with Chilean newspaper 24 hours.
Last year, protests started in Chile over student fees, with up to 2,000 marches occurring across the country. Many students from secondary and university education refused to return to their classes until the government made changes to their education financing policies.
In response, the government passed a bill to implement taxes to fund educational financial aid, but students say that it is not enough.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Chile has the most expensive university fees in Latin America, and is the only country on the continent where all universities are paid for.
