· August, 2011

Stories about Chile from August, 2011

Chile: Mapuche Youth Takeover Municipal Building

  30 August 2011

Katie Manning from Mi Voz reports that forty Mapuche teenagers have staged a takeover –toma in Spanish– in Ercilla: “Since August 19, the 11-to-17-year-olds occupied the town’s government center. They’re not giving it back, they said, until Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter hears out their grievances over the “constant police presence”...

Chile: #Paronacional (National Strike) vs. #Yonoparo (I Don't Strike)

  24 August 2011

The Workers' United Center of Chile has called for a national strike for the 24 and 25 of August 2011, as a form of protest against social and economic inequality in Chile. On Twitter, reactions for and against this protest have been echoed on the hashtags #paronacional (national strike) and #yonoparo (I don't strike).

Chile: Explaining the ‘Chilean Revolution’

  24 August 2011

Setty, a journalist living in Chile, explains ‘the Chilean revolution': “Chile is supposed to be the stodgy, conservative, institutionality-respecting corner of South America, where nothing ever happens. But this is changing as the public runs out of patience after centuries of being told that if they wait and work hard,...

Chile: New Partnership Between Global Voices and Mi Voz

  22 August 2011

Global Voices and Mi Voz - a Chilean network of online citizen newspapers - recently launched a content partnership. With this partnership Global Voices will enhance its coverage of Chilean news from a hyperlocal citizen perspective focused on news outside the capital, Santiago.

Brazil: Construction Starts on Controversial Belo Monte Dam

  20 August 2011

Despite the protesting voices of indigenous populations and traditional settlers of Volta Grande do Xingu region, construction on Brazil's Belo Monte hydroelectric plant has begun. Protests against the project will take place in 10 Brazilian cities and 16 countries on August 20.

Chile: Indigenous People's Education and Chilean Law

  18 August 2011

Laura Seelau and Ryan Seelau of Indigenous News write about the “Indigenous peoples’ fight for education in Chile” at I Love Chile: “What many do not know […] is that Chilean law actually makes certain guarantees to indigenous peoples that do not exist for other portions of the population. Many...

Chile: Waste Pickers Rummage for Legal Recognition

  12 August 2011

Environmentalist Bharati Chaturvedi flew for 40 hours from her home Delhi, India, to dig deeper into a dirty issue: trash. As politicians in Chile discuss recycling on a national level, Chaturvedi encourages that those who collect trash professionally, or “waste pickers,” be included in the solution.

Syria: World Cities Rally Against and For Bashar

  11 August 2011

Events in Syria are being echoed around the world. Syrians in the diaspora rallied in the majority of the cities in the world, either asking to overthrow Bashar Al Assad and his regime or chanting their love to their leader. Check out this video round up for footage from demonstrations worldwide.

Chile: International Support for Students Seeking Education Reforms

  11 August 2011

Movimiento Revolucionario Calle 13 (MRC13), a movement that aims to bring Latin America together “with the theme ‘education is the new revolution'” is uploading pictures to the group's Facebook page of people around the world showing their support for the Chilean student movement.

Chile: Demonstrators Thwart Hooded Violent Protestors

  10 August 2011

Chilean students protesting for educational reforms have been rallying since April and in the process have been forcefully controlled with water cannons and tear gas. A recent video has shown some demonstrators stopping a violent protest; many Chileans have shown support for the students.

Chile: August 9 Protests for Education Reform

  10 August 2011

Katie Manning from citizen news site Mi Voz reviews the August 9th student protests in Chile. She concludes: “Today their effort gained momentum globally. Chileans took to the streets of Paris, France, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, to show their support for the students’ cause.” Furthermore, Pepe Díaz (@pepe_black_diaz) has uploaded...

Chile: How to Follow the Student Protests Online

  9 August 2011

Students in Chile are marching for education reform once again today, August 9. Blogger Daniel Fajardo provides a guide on how to follow the protests and the student movement online. He includes a list of Twitter hashtags (#estudiantes, #marcha, #marchaestudiantil, #paronacional, #paroestudiantes, #caceroleo, #9deagtosto, #opchile, #chilequierepaz) and links to sites...

Global: Tracking Teacher Strikes and Protests

  8 August 2011

In one week, Teachersolidarity.com has written of teacher strikes and struggles in Puerto Rico, Chile, Kashmir, Orissa, Greece, Bahrain and Washington D.C. The blog is an online companion to the book, The Global Assault on Teaching, Teachers and their Unions: Stories for Resistance.

Chile: Families March for Education Reform

  8 August 2011

On Sunday, August 7, families marched to support students demanding equal, free and higher quality education in Chile. #marchafamiliar became a local Trending Topic on Sunday, and some users are still using it today to tweet videos, photos, and reactions. Sentidos Comunes published a photo gallery, and ‘Colectivo Fauna’ produced...

Chile: Citizen Videos of August 4 Clashes Between Students and Police

  5 August 2011

Pepe Díaz, blackmetalmeda on YouTube, posted videos (1, 2, 3) of yesterday's clashes between students and police during an unauthorized education protest in Santiago, Chile. Also, blogger Montserrat Nicolas from Curvas Políticas shared a video (with English captions) she put together with footage by Hernán Ortega (@yoopinopino).