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| Spanish Translation: “Recover the Copper”, “#COPPERxEDUCATION”, “For Free Education” |
So I was planning to go to the Guerra Mundial Z (World War Z) premiere in Chile tonight, but sadly, as a result of student protests, my evening plans have been ruined. Curse social reform! Just kidding – but these protestas (protests) due rain on my parade. My host mother described the scheme to me. She said hooded/mask students have been breaking car windows, throwing rocks at police, and causing fires in many fractions of the city and beyond. Chile is under attack.
It seems the whole world is at an uproar: Brazil, Turkey, Bulgaria, Chile, and at a lesser extent the United States whose citizens are unhappy about the NSA snooping through their internet searches. The causes for Chile’s protests are education and tax reform. The Chilean education system has been extremely privatized, and students are getting sick of this unfair administration. Additionally, the distribution of taxation is becoming unacceptable for many, not just Chilean students, which is resulting in a bombastic response. As seen above in the sign, copper miners are on a tirade as well. This planned, country-wide protest is also specifically about the distribution of copper wealth in Chile (a very important Chilean export). With the election quickly approaching, we are sure to see more and more outbursts such as these. How they will impact Chile’s future? Nadie sabe (No one knows).
If you are interested in more international protest/reform news follow the links below:
In general, this site is about what is going on in Chile, but currently has a lot of news about these protests (Be warned, it is in Spanish) – http://www.soychile.cl/
This site contains information on protests around the world as well as stunning photography – http://crowdvoice.org/
This movement also has its own hashtag (Ahh, modern technology). Follow the protest on twitter by searching: #COBRExEDUCACION(COPPERxEDUCATION)