Argentine teacher's death sparks demonstrations

Amid a virtual general strike, thousands of people marched throughout Argentina on Apr. 9 to repudiate the death at police hands of Neuquén science teacher Carlos Fuentealba last week while President Néstor Kirchner broke a four-day silence to say that Fuentealba had been "gunned down... for thinking in a certain way." "We strongly repudiate the violence of those in charge of security. This cannot ever happen again in Argentina," said the president in Government House, seeking to present the slain teacher as an ideological martyr. Kirchner spoke darkly about a "new doctrine of national security" in a reference to the 1976-1983 military dictatorship, hinting at both Neuquén Governor Jorge Sobisch and the newspaper La Nación (alluding to one of its editorials) as being responsible. He denied that the dispute with Neuquén teachers had originated from the central government's unilateral decision to raise the teachers' pay floor in February. "The strike will be held to express our vigorous repudiation of the brutal repression exercised mainly in the province of Neuquén where, just as during the dictatorship, teachers have been attacked," Alejandro Demichellis with the Central de Trabajadores de Argentina (CTERA) teachers' union confederation told IPS. CTERA teacher union leader Hugo Yasky was far more specific about the guilt for Fuentealba's death, charging: "Jorge Sobisch is the intellectual author of Carlos Fuentealba's murder," as he headed a march on Neuquén's provincial offices in this city by teachers and other members of the CTA umbrella union grouping to which CTERA belongs. Yasky not only called for Sobisch's resignation but also demanded that he be placed on trial while others called for his impeachment. Teachers in Neuquén have been on strike since Mar. 5, when the school year was to begin. Neuquén Governor Jorge Sobisch said in a press conference on Apr. 5 that he ordered the police to remove the teachers from a highway that is a main route for tourists, especially during holiday periods like the current Holy Week. But he admitted that the police had committed "excesses" that will be investigated. He was referring to action by the provincial police in riot gear on Apr. 4 who used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons against some 600 teachers who had attempted to mount a roadblock on the highway, located approximately 28 miles from the city of Neuquén. A 40-year-old chemistry high school teacher, Carlos Fuentealba, who was in the back seat of a car, was hit in the neck, reportedly by a tear gas canister. The attending physician reported on Apr. 5 that his patient was "in coma, in a desperate state, unstable and with brain damage that is considered irreversible." Fuentealba died later that night. In a telephone interview with IPS, Alejandro García of the Association of Education Workers of Neuquén, said the police officers, some of whom were wearing civilian dress but were heavily armed, opened fire on protesters along a nine mile stretch of the highway that the teachers planned to block. "We were fleeing, because many of the women teachers were having trouble breathing because of the tear gas. But they kept shooting at the moving cars anyway," said García. What the police were firing from their own vehicles were "tear gas canisters, one of which hit Fuentealba," he said. The teachers responded to Sobisch's remarks with a spontaneous protest on Apr. 5 outside of the seat of the provincial government, where some 300 demonstrators shouted "Murderer! Murderer!," furious because the governor had suggested that Fuentealba was injured in a "confrontation" with the police. Riot police and tear gas were also used against the demonstration. Incidents occurred simultaneously in Buenos Aires, when radical leftist groups tried to attack the seat of the Neuquén official delegation, in solidarity with the teachers. Police also used rubber bullets on Apr. 4 against teachers in the northwestern province of Salta while they waited outside the provincial legislature for the lawmakers to decide on the salary demands put forward by their union. The teachers in Salta have also been on strike for over a month, and classes there have not yet started. In addition, teachers' unions are in conflict in the provinces of La Rioja in the northwest and Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego in the south, with intermittent strikes and protests since the start of the southern hemisphere school year in March. In the northeastern provinces of Corrientes, Chaco and Formosa, teachers joined the strike, while in the eastern province of Buenos Aires and the central Córdoba, La Pampa and Santa Fe, authorities have engaged in dialogue with teachers, successfully heading off protests or strikes. The main grievance is the same around the country: the huge gap between teachers' base salary and take-home pay. While teachers have seen their actual incomes increase over the last two years, the base salary, which is used to calculate seniority-based raises and retirement pensions, remains frozen. The most extreme case is that of Santa Cruz, President Néstor Kirchner's home province, where a teacher takes home $550 a month, while the base salary is just $52. Teachers in that province have already gone on strike 11 times since Mar. 5. Although there have been no incidents of police violence like what happened in Neuquén, a climate of threats and intimidation can also be felt in Santa Cruz. On Apr. 1, a Molotov cocktail was lobbed at a building where some 400 teachers were holding a fair to collect strike funds. On Apr. 5, Santa Cruz trade unionist Beatriz Constantini reported that her 20-year-old son was kidnapped by unidentified individuals who drove him around for several hours and threatened to hurt his sisters if he did not give them information about the trade union activities of his mother. "At the beginning of this year, we had suggested to the leaders of the CTERA to start out with a nationwide strike, but we were unable to push our motion through, and now we have this tragedy," regretted García, from Neuquén. Demichellis said that although the teachers' conflict has extended to a number of provinces, there were attempts to re-establish dialogue. But he said "they have gone too far, with this repression, mainly in Neuquén, but also in Salta." He said that although wages have gone up since 2005, the gap between real income and the base salary remains. "We have been successful in getting the minimum teachers' salary raised from $164 in 2005 to $270 in 2006 and to $335 in 2007," said the trade unionist. In the poorest provinces, the federal government guarantees the minimum teachers' salary. However, while take-home wages have gone up, the base salary has remained the same, which means teachers do not receive the regular raises to which they are entitled for seniority. Retired teachers are also affected. "Teachers in Neuquén lose 60 percent of their income when they retire," said García. The same is true in other provinces. Provincial governments argue that they simply do not have the funds to improve the base salary, and thus improve the incomes of older teachers and retirees. However, the Apr. 9 strike was not focused on salary questions but on the harsh crackdown on the protests. The CTERA central trade union, which represents public employees, teachers, doctors and other unions, joined the strike. In addition, marches and protests have been held in Buenos Aires and other districts by human rights groups, social movements, neighborhood organizations and student associations. "This strike goes beyond any sectoral conflict. It will be held to defend the state of law itself. It is simply unacceptable for a protest demanding salary improvements to be responded to with such brutality and violence," said Demichellis.