Students clashed with police on the streets of the Chilean capital ahead of this weekend's municipal election, as protesters vent their anger over the government’s inability to respond to demands for education reform.
Protests turned violent in Santiago as police used tear gas and water cannons to push back the hostile crowd of student who resorted to Molotov cocktails and stones to get their message across on the grounds of the University of Santiago.The crowds of young people also gathered peacefully in many parts of the city to once again pressure officials to act on their behalf ahead of Sunday’s vote. President Sebastian Pinera recently introduced the 2013 budget bill, which showed a record-high 12.8 billion US dollars in education financing. But students say it is too little, as the system fails families with poor-quality public schools, expensive private universities and education loans at high interest rates.