By Simon Hardy

A mass demonstration of tens of thousands of people has rocked Chile’s capital Santiago. The United Workers Centre of Chile (CUT - Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Chile), the biggest trade union federation, organised the protests, the biggest since the fall of the military dictatorship 17 years ago. They were against the government’s neo liberal policies. The Socialist Party and even some government ministers joined the demonstration. Despite the police violence that left over 50 people injured and 740 arrested the scale of the protests sent a clear message to the government that its failure to change would not be tolerated. Read more...

From Diego, a sympathiser of the League for the Fifth International, in Santiago, Chile.

In Chile in May and early June this year, 1,300,000 secondary school students engaged in over a month of struggle against the neoliberal organisation of education. Because of their school uniforms consisting of a black blazer and white shirt their nickname is “the penguins”. Thus their militant struggle, which included fierce clashes with the brutal police force inherited from dictator Augusto Pinochet, their struggle came known as the uprising of the penguins— (el levantamiento de los pinguinos), Read more...

Diego Mocar argues for workers struggle to overthrow the Pinochet regime Read more...