Chilean students and teachers stike against LGE [UPDATED]

The Chilean student movement, which recently has been no stranger to fighting the government (and winning), has over the past month been organizing and demonstrating against the proposed General Education Law (LGE), a sweeping piece of legislation that will fundamentally change the way education is structured in Chile. There was no input on the bill from the people most affected by the legislation: teachers and students.

As a result now both teachers and students are on strike, protesting in the thousands in cities across Chile. The Valparaiso Times:

Wednesday morning marked the culmination of more than a month of protests against the General Education Law (LGE), a controversial reform package meant to replace the Pinochet-era Organic Constitutional Education Law (LOCE). More than 10,000 teachers and students marched through the Region V city of Valparaiso to the National Congress building, where legislators were debating the bill.
[...]
Tension outside the Congress building rose as protesters waved huge banners with messages against the LGE. Police guarding the Congress interrupted the protest by blasting demonstrators with water cannons and tear gas.

Demonstrators, including the president of the National Teacher's Association, Jaime Gajardo, maintain that the Education Ministry and the Chilean government have not considered teacher and student complaints while drafting the education law. Gajardo and supporters left the Congress before the session closed, saying, "One of our demands is that the government stop promoting the LGE, and this has clearly not been the consensus of the meeting today."

More astute readers will remember that it was almost two years ago exactly that students rose up against a similar law, and won. Here's hoping they can do so again.

6-25-08 UPDATE:
Xinghua is today reporting that now military police have been brought in to smash the continuing protests:

Some 40 students were detained here Tuesday for protesting against the General Law of Education (LGE), currently being discussed in the Chilean Senate.

A march by some 1,000 high school students through the Central Station district west of the Chilean capital was broken up by military police who said the demonstration was unauthorized.

The students' group had decided on Monday to continue their protest against the controversial educational reform package proposed by the government.

I'd imagine there's a lot more coverage in Spanish than English - any fluent FSP readers want to help? :)