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Quebec has reacted to student protests against fee increases by passing an emergency law. It restricts demonstrations and imposes fines on protesters who block students from going to classes - up to $35000 for student leaders. Some of the demonstrations have turned violent, with Molotov cocktails being thrown. The name Molotov cocktail was coined by the Finns as an insulting reference to the Russian foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov at the time of the Russian invasion of Finland in 1939 which ultimately cost Finland 11% of its territory. (And the same Molotov of the eponymous Molotov-Ribbentop non-aggression pact between Russia and Germany in 1939). The quebecois student wave follows in the wake of extended demonstrations by students and high school pupils in Chile. The unrest has contributed to a precipitous decline in the popularity of President Sebastian Pinera. Following the dramatic San Jose mine rescue in 2010 his rating has plunged from 63% to just 26% recently. In the UK university fees for citizens have risen sharply. They were first introduced at 1000 quid p.a. in 1998 and recently have rocketed from 3000 to 9000 pounds. Foreign students in the UK pay much more - closer to 14000 quid. There are two forces at work here. One is the dissatisfaction that many feel about economic inequality - a narrow elite with unfair advantages. The other is the raw fact that the welfare state has become unaffordable. The QSL is from Radio Presidente Balmaceda in Santiago using 10kW on 31mb and heard in Cape Town in 1969. Tucked away behind the Andes, Chile is not easy to hear on AM and harder to QSL.
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Quebec has reacted to student protests against fee increases by passing an emergency law. It restricts demonstrations and imposes fines on protesters who block students from going to classes - up to $35000 for student leaders. Some of the demonstrations have turned violent, with Molotov cocktails being thrown. The name Molotov cocktail was coined by the Finns as an insulting reference to the Russian foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov at the time of the Russian invasion of Finland in 1939 which ultimately cost Finland 11% of its territory. (And the same Molotov of the eponymous Molotov-Ribbentop non-aggression pact between Russia and Germany in 1939). The quebecois student wave follows in the wake of extended demonstrations by students and high school pupils in Chile. The unrest has contributed to a precipitous decline in the popularity of President Sebastian Pinera. Following the dramatic San Jose mine rescue in 2010 his rating has plunged from 63% to just 26% recently. In the UK university fees for citizens have risen sharply. They were first introduced at 1000 quid p.a. in 1998 and recently have rocketed from 3000 to 9000 pounds. Foreign students in the UK pay much more - closer to 14000 quid. There are two forces at work here. One is the dissatisfaction that many feel about economic inequality - a narrow elite with unfair advantages. The other is the raw fact that the welfare state has become unaffordable. The QSL is from Radio Presidente Balmaceda in Santiago using 10kW on 31mb and heard in Cape Town in 1969. Tucked away behind the Andes, Chile is not easy to hear on AM and harder to QSL.
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