In Pictures: Students protest in Chile

Tens of thousands of students take to the streets, demanding reforms in country’s education system.

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Protests calling for reforms in Chile’s education system have continued in cities around the country on August 9. Tens of thousands of teachers, students, parents and labour activists marched in the capital Santiago on Tuesday for the fifth time in two months to demand reforms from the conservative government of President Sebastian Pinera. Protests in Santiago turned violent when protesters clashed with riot police.

“I’m marching because I have two children and I can’t make ends meet; they are going to be in debt for years when they go to college,” Graciela Hernandez, one of the protesters, told the AFP news agency. Protests have been mounting since Pinera, the first right-wing president to govern Chile since the country returned to democracy in 1990, announced wide-ranging education spending cuts earlier in the year.

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1) Students march through Santiago demanding reforms in the public state education system [Ivan Alvarado/Reuters]

 

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2) A protester holds a placard reading: “Five years studying 15 (years) paying” [Felipe Trueba/EPA]

 

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3) Police fire a water canon at protesters in Santiago [Martin Bernetti/AFP]

 

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4) Protesters take cover from the water canons [Carlos Vera/Reuters]

 

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5) A woman walks by riot police standing guard during a student protest. The graffiti reads ‘Chile, with all profit’ [Ivan Alvarado/Reuters]

 

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6) A demonstrator confronts police [Felipe Trueba/EPA]

 

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7) A riot police officer fires tear gas at protesters in Santiago [Martin Bernetti/AFP]

 

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8) A student throws a brick at riot police [Martin Bernetti/AFP]

 

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9) Students set fires in central Santiago [Hector Retamal/AFP]

 

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10) A demonstrator throws a tear gas canister back at riot police [Cristobal Saavedra/Reuters]

 

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11) Riot police run after student protesters [Eliseo Fernandez/Reuters]

 

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12) A student protester is arrested by police [Victor Ruiz Caballero/Reuters]

 

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13) Students throw stones and sticks at riot police [Hector Retamal/AFP]

 

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14) Protesters continue to chant and bang pots throughout the night. Pot banging was a popular form of protest under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990 [Felipe Truba/EPA]
Source: News Agencies