Mario Aguilar, president of the organization, said that representatives from all regions of the country are participating in the march, driven by the need to resolve many Government and Parliament deficiencies in the system. “The draft Law on School Coexistence is being processed, where there are measures against attacks on teaching staff by parents and students, as well as by the administrative sector,” he said.

Aguilar said that at this moment, public education is literally falling apart, both in its content and infrastructure. “There are collapsed roofs, plagues of mice, schools where water leaks when it rains, all of which adds to the so-called historical debt to thousands of teachers who suffered a reduction in their salaries during the military dictatorship,” he denounced.

The rally should reach the headquarters of Congress in Valparaíso on Tuesday, just when the Law of School Coexistence is being discussed. “It is a considerable physical effort, but they hope to be received by the deputies to explain all their demands,” Aguilar said.

During the first stage, the teachers covered the distance from Santiago to the town of Curacaví (49 km), and this Monday they will arrive at the Lo Vásquez sector, 37.6 km away. The participants in the protest will walk the final stretch to Valparaíso (34.2 km) on Tuesday morning.

During the journey, the protesters receive support from local educators and other social and trade organizations such as the No More AFP Movement against the Pension Fund Administrators.

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