Chileans to March to Demand Improvements in Education

Chile's Revolutionary Secondary Coordinator summoned high school students to a march on Thursday that will start at 10:00 local time from the Bandejon Central Los Heroes in Santiago City.

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The students demand from the Chilean authorities minimum conditions for their educational process, such as free transportation and access to health, the Internet, and infrastructure.

They also request the creation of effective protocols against gender violence and the promotion of secondary education. Another demand is the recognition of the work carried out by students from technical-professional establishments when they carry out internships.

Chileans also demand the repeal of the "Safe Classroom Act," a repressive instrument that allows the authorities of educational institutions to immediately expel those students who are involved in "violent acts."

Downtown Santiago has been the scene of social protests since Sunday, when 62 percent of those who participated in the plebiscite rejected the new Constitution, which was expected to replace the one drafted during the Augusto Pinochet Dictatorship (1973-1990). Among other things, the new Constitutional sought to create a free public education system.

On Monday, several Santiago metro stations closed operations due to the protest of thousands of students. Similar to what young Chileans did when the social outbreak of 2019 began, they massively evaded paying the subway fare as a symbolic act of protest.

The next day, the militarized police harshly repressed students marching towards La Moneda Palace, where President Gabriel Boric was getting ready to announce changes in his cabinet. The Carabineros fired water jets and tear gas at the youths, some of whom clashed with the security forces.