Riots commemorate Young Combatants' Day in Chile

At least 32 police officers were injured and 819 people were detained as violent protests that lasted into early Mar. 29 swept across Chile's capital and several other cities. Flying rocks and teargas marked the 22nd annual Young Combatants' Day, which commemorates the slaying of brothers Eduardo and Rafael Vergara Toledo by Augusto Pinochet's military forces in 1985. The Vergara brothers, active members of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), were peppered with bullets by military police during an anti-Pinochet protest. Eduardo died instantly; Rafael was dragged into a police van, cuffed, beaten and finally shot in the head. Their bodies were left in the street. MIR leaders decided to designate Mar. 29 as Young Combatants' Day so that the Vergara brothers and other youth who rose up to fight military repression in the 80's would not be forgotten. As the years have gone by, commemorative acts on the anniversary have turned more and more widespread, and often include street violence. The Young Combatants' Day this year coincided with great public unrest related to the government's failed effort to improve Santiago's mass transit system. With her poll numbers dropping sharply, President Michelle Bachelet earlier in the week apologized to the nation for her government's inept performance and replaced her transportation minister and other cabinet members in an effort to repair the damage. Protests over the Transantiago system have increased in the days leading up to the Young Combatants' anniversary. Commemorative acts and small protests began on Mar. 25. The campuses of the University of Chile, the Metropolitan Technical University (UTEM) and the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences had peaceful protests that day. More violent demonstrations began the following day. A UTEM science laboratory was destroyed. On Mar. 27, four low-grade bombs were set off in different districts of the capital by unknown perpetrators. In Providencia, a bomb exploded at the foot of a luxury car dealership, shattering glass. Leaflets demanding "punishment of Transantiago banks" were left at the scene. Another bomb exploded in Maipu across from a McDonald's; in Quinta Normal the entire façade of a bank building was destroyed. Protests began early on the morning of Mar. 29 with over 300 high school students marching through downtown Santiago to protest the implementation of Transantiago as well as the reform of the Constitutional Organic Learning Law, which will be sent to parliament shortly. The students vandalized public structures and threw rocks at the police. Young demonstrators blocked traffic with flaming barricades in several neighborhoods. Several stores were looted. One bus was burned and many others damaged in the protests. The rioting lasted until early the next morning. The police tried to break up the demonstrators by launching tear gas and spraying demonstrators with water cannons. Of the 819 people the government said were detained in the unrest, most were too young to be charged and were quickly released. Former Santiago Gov. Marcelo Trivelli said the protests "appear to reflect a general sensation of social dissatisfaction in the country. I think people are somehow showing they want changes and some express that with anger." Santiago Mayor Raul Alcaino said he would file civil suit against some parents so they can pay "for at least part" of the damage their children caused. Others will be charged with damage to public and private property, carrying illegal arms or causing public disorder.