July 20, 2011

Wonder Woman Wants Education Reform in Chile Now!

A "protest kiss" during a July education-reform rally in Santiago, Chile.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/horment/5939392774/">Erwin Horment</a>/Flickr

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While Chile’s recent string of student protests has had its fair share of water cannons sprayed and Molotov cocktails hurled, there have been a good deal of bloodless—and downright entertaining—demonstrations as well.

Young Chilean protesters, calling for increased funding for public education and lower university fees, choreographed and staged elaborate song-and-dance routines in the capital, Santiago, this week. The real kicker? The college kids and high schoolers were decked-out in colorful comic book costumes and superhero attire, BBC News reports.

Batman, Superman, Mario, Wonder Woman, Catwoman (who actually looked more like Lady Gaga on a bad morning), Poison Ivy, and a few jolly pirates all made appearances, while C+C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat” was blasted for good measure.

The protest—the latest in a series of demonstrations that began in June—was organized after news of a cabinet reshuffle by center-right President Sebastián Piñera, whose approval rating has sunk to the low-30s.

Chilean students appear to have a fondness for creative protesting. In early July, students in Concepción orchestrated a mass “kiss-in,” in which 2,000 demonstrators gathered in front of city courts to suck face in support of eliminating for-profit control of their education system. (It was kind of like a larger, less chaotic version of the osculating couple photographed during the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots.)

The only thing that would have made either of these rallies more stimulating was if the Chileans took a cue from Ukrainian protesters and went topless.

Watch footage of the superhero-dance-protest below:

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You just sent an incredible message: that quality journalism doesn't have to answer to advertisers, billionaires, or hedge funds; that newsrooms can eke out an existence thanks primarily to the generosity of its readers. That's so powerful. Especially during what's been called a "media extinction event" when those looking to make a profit from the news pull back, the Mother Jones community steps in.

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