Student protests turn violent

SANTIAGO, Chile – Violence erupted on the streets of Chile’s capital and other cities Tuesday as tens of thousands of students staged another protest demanding changes in public education.

Masked demonstrators burned cars and barricades, looted storefronts and threw furniture at police in Santiago. Some attacked an apartment building, throwing rocks and breaking windows. Riot police used tear gas and tanks with water cannons to push them back.

By nightfall, at least 273 protesters were detained, including 73 in Santiago, and 23 police officers were injured, said Rodrigo Ubilla, a deputy interior minister.

Five days after a banned march ended in nearly 900 arrests, students and teachers marched peacefully in Santiago and elsewhere in Chile on Tuesday, calling for the government to increase spending on schooling and provide “free and equal” public education.

University of Chile student president Camila Vallejos said 150,000 marched on sidestreets in the capital because the government again denied them permission to march on the main avenue. Ubilla estimated that between 70,000 and 80,000 marched in Santiago.

The unrest has gripped Chile for more than two months.