Window view in Santiago

A quick little report of a bit of excitement this evening in Santiago. Our hostel is so much in the center of things that it is only a block away from the main square (Plaza Italia) where all the protest marches start. Tonight Berto learned some new concepts: protest march, water cannon, and tear gas. In the half hour between when we walked past the Plaza Italia and saw youths with banners on one side of the street and riot police on the other, things escalated to tipped-over dumpsters, water cannons, flaming trash piles, and tear gas. Between tooth brushing and being tucked in, Berto joined Lisa at the window to look out upon the action. Mike was downstairs in the lobby having a quiet moment. He got to learn firsthand that tear gas seeps through doors but generally does not rise. Now, an hour later, the kids are drifting off to sleep, sirens are zipping around in the neighborhood, and Mike and Lisa are sitting outside the bedroom reflecting on different countries' methods of crowd control and blowing our noses to the light waft of tear gas. With this much big city excitement, it is a good thing we are going out to a friend's country farm tomorrow.

A follow up word on the student protests. Starting in early June, high school and university students in Santiago and other major cities have been on strike. The students want more government support for education. According to the student organizations, Chile has the highest costs for university of any country. (Bearing in mind private US college costs, I think they must be taking average income into account.) The students also point out that the majority of European and Latin American countries have low cost or free universities. At the secondary school level, I have heard numerous tales of public school classes of 40+ students. Parents in Chiloe were quick to point out to me that my experience in Carpe Diem was atypical as CD is a well managed semi-private school. The general consensus is that income disparities are growing in Chile and that the tiered system of private, semi-private and public schools is widening the income gap.

For my part I had to hand it to the students for creativity. They did not just march and carry placards, they made street theater. In my mind their protests have been evidence of intelligent, determined people. While we in Santiago we witnessed a mass queca dance in the Plaza de Armas, a march and choreographed dance by cartoon and super heroes, a plea for 1800 pints of blood (symbolizing the $1.8 billion investment that they are seeking in education), a day and night continuous relay run around La Moneda (the Presidential palace) to keep their demands in front of President Piñera, A mass recreation of Michael Jackson's thriller video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76TIfIqjyPc&feature=related complete with ghoulish makeup and a leader in a red leather jacket, and student dressed as Jesus bearing a cross of university expenses. We were disappointed that we missed the mass kiss in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5EJXGd70KY Mike and I would have been ready to lend our support.

For more details check out the NYTimes http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/05/world/americas/05chile.html?ref=americas

and Santiago Times http://www.santiagotimes.cl/chile/education/22145-students-and-police-face-off-in-chiles-capital