Chile Removes Police Chief After Conduct at Strike
May 31
Chile's national police replaced the chief of its special forces after President Michelle Bachelet's government said the unit used ``excessive'' force in quelling student demonstrations yesterday.
``We saw excesses in the way that, for a while, the public forces acted,'' government spokesman Ricardo Lagos Weber said today in comments on Canal 13. ``The way that some members acted clearly exceeded any parameter, authorization or directive that the police has to control the public.''
Bachelet said in comments broadcast on Television Nacional that she felt ``indignation'' over the ``abuse'' experienced by some of the 800,000 students who joined the protests to press for increased education spending. Police arrested 811 people and used water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds.
Students extended the strike for an eighth day today, triggering a national debate over spending to improve the country's education system amid a surge in government revenue from record prices for copper, the country's top export.
``This has to do with inequality, and that's a very big issue for our country,'' said Dante Contreras, an economist and professor at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago. ``The quality of public education in Chile is very low. These kinds of demonstrations will multiply in future.''
The student movement has been the first major challenge for Bachelet, who took office on March 11, Contreras said. The president vows to save most of the government's windfall from copper sales to secure public funding for the future, when copper prices fall.
Blocked Traffic
The finance ministry started saving a portion of its excess copper income in dollars in foreign bank accounts earlier this year to avoid strengthening the peso. The currency has gained 38.4 percent against the dollar since its rally began in March 2003 on copper sales and rising interest rates. A stronger peso cuts profits for exporters that sell products in dollars.
Education Minister Martin Zilic started a second round of negotiations this afternoon with student leaders to discuss demands for public assistance covering the cost transportation to school, fees for college entrance exams, and a shortened school day. Protesters blocked all 10 lanes of traffic on the main thoroughfare in downtown Santiago.
Students took control of 489 school buildings across the country yesterday and held strikes at another 159, the police said.
Chile's national police replaced the chief of its special forces after President Michelle Bachelet's government said the unit used ``excessive'' force in quelling student demonstrations yesterday.
``We saw excesses in the way that, for a while, the public forces acted,'' government spokesman Ricardo Lagos Weber said today in comments on Canal 13. ``The way that some members acted clearly exceeded any parameter, authorization or directive that the police has to control the public.''
Bachelet said in comments broadcast on Television Nacional that she felt ``indignation'' over the ``abuse'' experienced by some of the 800,000 students who joined the protests to press for increased education spending. Police arrested 811 people and used water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds.
Students extended the strike for an eighth day today, triggering a national debate over spending to improve the country's education system amid a surge in government revenue from record prices for copper, the country's top export.
``This has to do with inequality, and that's a very big issue for our country,'' said Dante Contreras, an economist and professor at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago. ``The quality of public education in Chile is very low. These kinds of demonstrations will multiply in future.''
The student movement has been the first major challenge for Bachelet, who took office on March 11, Contreras said. The president vows to save most of the government's windfall from copper sales to secure public funding for the future, when copper prices fall.
Blocked Traffic
The finance ministry started saving a portion of its excess copper income in dollars in foreign bank accounts earlier this year to avoid strengthening the peso. The currency has gained 38.4 percent against the dollar since its rally began in March 2003 on copper sales and rising interest rates. A stronger peso cuts profits for exporters that sell products in dollars.
Education Minister Martin Zilic started a second round of negotiations this afternoon with student leaders to discuss demands for public assistance covering the cost transportation to school, fees for college entrance exams, and a shortened school day. Protesters blocked all 10 lanes of traffic on the main thoroughfare in downtown Santiago.
Students took control of 489 school buildings across the country yesterday and held strikes at another 159, the police said.
posted by Alice at
Thursday, June 01, 2006
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