The day the micros died...

All of Chile has been in a bit of a tangle over the micros, or city buses, during the last few weeks. I am a bit unclear on the situation in Santiago, short of the fact that there have been major student protests. This is always rather interesting in Chile. Just as at home, protests generally follow a certain formula. However, here in Chile, no matter what the issue may be, the formula usually includes protesters throwing themselves against cops dressed in full riot gear, people being tossed into massive paddy wagons, tear gas, fire hoses..... It never ceases to amaze me that I will turn on the news and see some horrific-seeming scene of someone being tackled by armed guards, or I will look out my classroom window and see carabineros jumping out of a van with torso-length bulletproof shields on their arms....and then I'll ask my host family and they'll say, "Oh, I don't know, some protest." A friend in Santiago told me she got the same reaction when she asked a friend why they smelled tear gas: "Oh, some demostration." Although I've come to realize that in general it's not really to be taken too seriously, it's just part of the show. It just wouldn't be a heartfelt protest without some rocks being thrown! And the police just wouldn't be doing their job if they didn't come dressed for armageddon! In some ways it reminds me of soccer players over-dramatizing their injuries to get a foul.

I digress. I don't know the specifics of the Santiago situation, as I said, but in Valparaíso the disagreement is over a student-fare hike from 130 to 210 pesos. The buses here are independently operated, something which I would like to write more about later. It's something to get used to. In many ways, they feel like giant taxi cabs--stuffed animals hanging from the rearview, stickers and photos all over the dashboard. What's more, because they're private, they are far more laissez-faire than the buses I am used to. To begin with, you flag them down. This is something I have had to adjust to. At first it felt exceptionally rude to be stopping a vehicle with 20 other passengers just because I felt like getting on. Same goes for getting off. There are stops, of course, but in general you can just jump off anytime they slow down. Most interesting of all, though, you can usually bargain with the driver if you have a special request. In Concón several weeks ago, several friends and I essentially chartered a micro to take us to the street we were staying on, although it wasn't on the normal route. The bus was empty, there were seven of us, why not? Since the micros operate like small businesses, each fare is important. Which is why the drivers are so insistent on the fare raise for students. They are also asking for government subsidies, which are provided to the transportation system in Santiago. Their argument is that the machines are so expensive to maintain that the current fare system is not sustainable.

For their part, the students clearly do not want their fare to be raised. On their side, the perspective is that students of lower income will be penalized by the price hike. They are also claiming that the government is not supporting the education system adequately. So, here in Valpo, the students have been on strike for 3 weeks. Not my students...that you would have heard about. But at the U Catolica the strike is at 3.5 weeks now, unless something has changed in the last few days.

So, up until this point, I generally followed the situation. The prices were set to be raised, and so the students went on strike. This makes sense.

Today, though, the micros also went on strike, because the drivers are angry at not being included in negotiations. It was meant to be a 50% strike, but in reality the micros are not running. I've seen only 3 or 4.

So, as I understand it, the price of the student fare has not gone up, has not gone down, and has not been definitely decided in any way.....and yet both sides of the argument are now on strike. No students, no micros. I'm a bit baffled. How on earth does one resolve a situation in which everyone goes on strike whether they are winning or losing the argument?

Anyhow, this is, as always, from behind the language barrier. I am not getting any of the detail of the situation, and my students seem to be generally disinterested in the matter so I haven't been able to get a clear answer from anyone.

So what does all this mean for my life? Eight out of eighteen students this morning, four out of eighteen this afternoon. I am willing to bet that half of those that didn't show up don't even have to take a micro to school, but hey, if I were a student I'd take the excuse too.

And we were singing....bye, bye miss american pie....