Protests continue

A friend posted this link on her facebook: 
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2011/10/2011106181758485239.html

Read it.

My thoughts: 

1) I can't believe they've been at this for five months now! It still feels like yesterday I was joining them giving out abrazos gratuitos por la educacion gratuita (free hugs for free education)! Being right there with them in the tear gas filled streets makes me feel such a part of this movement. My heart goes out to them. I wish I could still be there supporting them. Stay strong, Chile! 

2) Pinera had better not criminalize public protests! I can understand making the "tomas" (when students literally take over the school and live there, keeping faculty out) illegal, but he had better not touch the protests. People in Chile protest for everything, not just free education. It's a huge part of the culture! Thursdays are known for being dias de marchas. There is always something they want to yell at the government about, whether it's expensive education, dams in Patagonia, famous fishing ports being closed to make way for more tourism, lack of fish due to Japanese fishing boats off the coast, expensive costs of water and energy, or high unemployment rates. I think Latinos in general are known for piping up and speaking their mind and I know for a fact that they protest in many Latino countries all the time. It's not just a Chilean thing. I don't even want to think about what it would do to the culture. Part of me doubts it would even work...they'd protest the illegality of protesting :p

3) "College costs in Chile are considered the most expensive in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States." Yeah...haha. I still remember my host family's reaction when I told them how much Messiah costs each year. They didn't believe me. I thought I was going to have to pull up my student bill online and prove it. It's true, we do pay a lot more than they do. But we also make a lot more than they do! I just looked it up really fast, but assuming the source is accurate, the US gross income per capita is about $33,000 while Chile is down at $4,400. The good schools in Chile cost $5,000 a year and it's harder for them to get aid and scholarships than it is for us.

4) Everyone I talked to said that there's plenty of money in the national treasury. They said the copper mines are making more than ever and they're just letting that money sit. My host mom also suggested that they use the good amount of money they make off of people entering the country as tourists (personally I doubt they really make that much). She also said that they spend too much money on the military. They haven't had a war in hundreds of years but they keep funding those dormant forces. She laughed and said that we (the US) need to put our money into our military because we're always fighting someone. Yes, yes we are :( I don't really know what the finances of the country are. I just  know that every one I talked to said something about money just sitting there from the copper mines.

Stay strong, Chile. Keep fighting. You've lost five months now, don't just quit! I'm with you in spirit...

p.s. Good thing I didn't listen to ISA when they told me the strikes would be done by August 1st!