Chile’s Students March for Education Rights
Thousands of university students participated in a protest march this morning and afternoon, the first of its kind for the year 2012.
PLAZA ITALIA — It continued the tradition that began last year, with students demanding better access to higher education, higher standards of quality, and improved financing in order to emerge from the great deal of debt that they and their families have incurred as a result of tuition prices.
The march passed relatively calmly at the beginning, but later descended into sporadic clashes with police. A number of vehicles and small structures were burned by delinquents.
The vice president of the FECH (student organization), Camila Vallejo, announced on Twitter that over 50,000 students had joined in the march.
“We have arrived at Mapocho Station and in Santiago alone our numbers have grown to 50,000!!! With conviction and with unity we advance!!!”, she posted.
photos by Mark Teiwes / I Love Chile News
On a related note, today was the day that the total student debt in the United States reached US$1 trillion.
Matt lived in Chile for nearly two years before receiving a master's degree in International Relations from the University of California, San Diego. He spent two years teaching English in Japan and a year studying in Brazil, but says that Chile is where he feels most at home. 
