Protesting Chilean high school students pick up support from universities, unions

High school students demanding greater education spending from Chile's new government ratcheted up their offensive Monday, with some university students and unions joining protests just days after President Michelle Bachelet agreed to most of their demands.

Photo: Protesting Chilean high school students pick up support from universities, unions

Police used water trucks and tear gas to disperse some 1,000 protesters attempting to march to downtown Santiago and barricade one of the capital's central boulevards with burning tires. Protesters responded by hurling rocks at police vehicles.

Chile's public schools have been paralyzed for three weeks by student protests demanding deep reforms to the country's educational system, including financial breaks for poor students and federal intervention to balance out regional differences in educational spending.

On Monday the Education Ministry was shut down as bureaucrats there joined the protest.

Bachelet appeared to have defused the first major crisis of her three-month-old administration last Thursday. She offered students a variety of benefits that will cost Chile some US$200 million (Ђ150 million) through next year and to study reforms to Chile's education law.

"The truth is that a strike isn't necessary," Bachelet said Monday.

Finance Minister Andres Velasco said the government would allocate US$58 million (Ђ48 million) during the second half of this year alone.

"We have dealt seriously and responsibly with all (the students') concrete and contingent demands," Bachelet said. "And we have also taken on the larger theme of reforming (educational) quality, because it is just, because it is necessary."

The concessions came after violent street protests last week left some 20 people injured, more than 700 arrested and millions of dollars (euros) of property damage, reports APO.

O.Ch.