Students Occupy Offices!

Student protesters converged on the far-right UDI party’s headquarters
in Santiago, occupying the building.

(Chile) Student protesters occupied the central offices of the far-right Independent Democratic Union Party (UDI) in Santiago on Tuesday morning, as the march ended with a dozens arrested.

The protest by the ACES high school students association, staged a sit-in at the party’s headquarters, accusing the party of being “complicit in the robbery of municipal money that should go to education.”


The demonstration is the latest in a year-long series of disputes between students and the government over reforms that the students deem necessary for an equitable education system.

It is also a response to the “Hinzpeter Law,” proposed by Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter, which establishes a possible three-year jail sentence for anyone caught illegally occupying public or private property. The law, which has been heavily criticized by human rights groups, has been seen as a direct attack on the massive student movement.

“The government’s indifference to student proposals has left us no other path but direct action,” said Gabriel Boric, president of the Confederation of Chilean Students (Confech) on his Twitter account. “That’s why, along with ACES, we’ve joined this occupation of the UDI.”