Students in Chile Protest for Education Reform · Global Voices
María Angélica Marín

Demonstrations in Santiago de Chile. Image by Flickr user NOtodoesARTE. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
[All links lead to webpages in Spanish.]
The first march for education during the current government of President Michelle Bachelet took place on May 8, 2014, with due prior authorization.
The demonstration counted on the participation of several groups. Among them were Student Confederation of Chile (Confech), National High School Students Assembly (ACES), National High School Students Coordinator (Cones), Movement of Higher Education Students (Mesup), Organization of Private Higher Education Federations (Ofesup) and Association of Ministry of Education Officers (Andime).
The march demanded a free quality education as well as active participation in the reform, which is currently being studied. The newspaper La Tercera reported:
Marcha estudiantil: ¿Qué está en juego? Pdta de la Feuc dice que estudiantes quieren “participación en la reforma” http://t.co/kkESMigWrC
— La Tercera (@latercera) May 8, 2014
Student march, what is at stake here? President of Feuc says students want “participation in the reform”.
The march was simultaneously carried out in the capital city Santiago and several other locations in the country. Participation and presence of an important number of students was noticed:
Qué bueno ver que la marcha estudiantil fue masiva en #Santiago y regiones. Todos por una nueva educación, que construya un mejor #Chile
— René Naranjo S. (@renenaranjo) May 8, 2014
It's good to see that the student march was massive in Santiago and other regions. United for a new education that builds a better Chile.
Miles de jóvenes participan en la primera marcha estudiantil del año en #Concepción http://t.co/Tu0LiT2jIT vía @biobio
— Radio Villa Francia (@rvfradiopopular) April 24, 2014
Thousands of young people participate in the first student march of the year in Concepción.
There were marches in several cities in the countryside too, as in Iquique, Valparaíso, the city that is the seat of the National Congress, and Valdivia.
Unfortunately, in some places the marches were overshadowed by disturbances, mostly caused by people other than students and who had nothing to do with their demands.
Naschla Aburman, president of Feuc, labeled these disturbances as “isolated incidents” and stated that there are things that are outside of the responsibility of the organizers.
Twitter users expressed their opinion regarding these facts, spreading images and information about the consequences:
AHORA: Intendente @orrego dice que “no hubo ningún incidente” durante marcha estudiantil. Sí “violentistas organizados” al final de ella
— Mauricio Bustamante (@tv_mauricio) May 8, 2014
NOW: Governor Orrego says “there haven't been any incidents” during the student march. However, there were “organized violent people” at the end of it.
Universidad Central denunció daños por 20 millones de pesos tras marcha estudiantil http://t.co/FzRaeoNUa8 pic.twitter.com/bFNv4ACkKL
— Cooperativa (@Cooperativa) May 8, 2014
Universidad Central reported damages around 20 million pesos [about 36,000 US dollars] after the student march.
General Ricardo Solar informa que el número de detenidos tras la marcha estudiantil son 101
— La Tercera (@latercera) May 8, 2014
General Ricardo Solar reports that the number of people under arrest after the student march is 101.
@romina_ms @CNNChile Romina, yo soy estudiante, y estoy de acuerdo con la marcha pacifica, pero estos grupos son organizados.
— Rodrigo Gacitúa G (@RGacitua_G) May 8, 2014
Romina, I am a student, and I agree with the peaceful march, but these groups are organized