I’ll just preface this post by saying this has nothing to do with skiing/riding or the current conditions. That said, I took in some…culture last night in downtown Santiago, Chile. Students are currently protesting education reforms that the government is trying to make to the public education systems. According to International SOS, “Students have been rallying over various issues, including the payment of stipends, delays in the issuance of national student identity cards and university funding. These protests have begun to turn violent lately: protesters have been burning desks, tires, and other trash in major roadways and police have resorted to tear gas and water cannons to try to disperse the unruly crowds. Hundreds of protesters have been detained.
Anyway, last night I unintentionally stumbled into one of these protests. Not one to shy away from adventure, I checked it out for a few minutes. Sure, it’s probably not the best/safest decision but there’s something pretty fascinating about this sort of cultural uprising. You can debate the merits of drawing attention to your cause through violence and destruction, but I’d have to say it’s a bit more noble than rioting because your tam lost. Obviously, I wasn’t participating, just spectating. Here are some photos and a play-by-play of what went down.
