Search Results for chile

Source: The Guardian Unlimited

For a whole year, a Chilean artist using the name Fried Potatoes (Papas Fritas) planned his revenge. Saying he was collecting material for an art project, the 31-year-old visual artist sneaked into a vault at a notorious private, run-for-profit university and quietly removed tuition contracts.

Fried Potatoes – whose real name is Francisco Tapia – then burned the documents, rendering it nearly impossible for the Universidad del Mar to call in its debt – which he claimed was worth as much as $500m (£297m). “It’s over. You are all free of debt,” he said in a five-minute video released earlier this month. Speaking to former students, he added: “You don’t have to pay a penny.” read more

Source: Corpwatch

Some 4,000 contract workers at Los Bronces copper mine in Chile went on strike against Anglo American, a UK-based mining multinational from South Africa. The strike is the latest in a series of protests against the Chilean copper industry, the world’s largest producers of the metal.

Copper is Chile’s most important product. One fifth of Chile’s gross domestic product is derived from copper and the metal makes up 60 percent of exports. As much as a third of global production of copper comes from Chile with the bulk shipped to China for manufacturing. (Copper is also extremely valuable in China, so much so that it is often used as a backing for bank loans) read more

Source: Democracy Now

In Chile, thousands of people marched in Chile Sunday to commemorate the 38th anniversary of the U.S.-backed coup and the more than 3,200 people who were killed during Augusto Pinochet’s 17-year dictatorship. Near the end of the march, clashes broke out between some demonstrators and police officers. Police responded by using water cannons and tear gas. Twenty people were arrested.