International
Argentine society defends its sensitive fiber before the Government: public education
Argentine society defended one of those axes that trebrate it, a sensitive fiber such as public education, before the adjustment policies of the Government of libertarian Javier Milei, who, in addition to applying his well-known ‘chainsaw’, considers it a “nest of indoctrination.”
Several hundred thousand citizens – students, teachers, university staff, in addition to unions, politicians and social organizations – demonstrated in the Federal University March through the streets throughout the country in defense of public higher education and against the policies of the Executive in that area.
Although the Ministry of Human Capital announced late on Monday what, days ago, it presented as an agreement reached with the National Interuniversity Council (CIN), the deposit of 10,075 million pesos (about 11 million dollars at the current official exchange rate) for 100% of the operating expenses of the national universities, the march went on.
According to the Ministry of Security, only in the Plaza de Mayo, where the march of Buenos Aires concluded, which took place between Congress and the Casa Rosada (seat of the Government), between 100,000 and 150,000 people gathered.
But the number of people between Avenida de Mayo, 9 de Julio and the surrounding streets could raise that number to about half a million protesters.
Argentina promulgated in 1884, under the Presidency of Julio Argentino Roca, Law 1420 on common, free and compulsory education, the basis of the current national education system, which includes free education up to higher (university) education and reaches foreigners.
“We are proud children of the Argentine public university,” proclaimed the president of the Argentine University Federation (FUA), Piera Fernández de Piccoli, in her speech at the end of the Buenos Aires march.
The university leader affirmed that “education is a fundamental human right, because it prevails over the ungrateful chance of inequality” and considered the current one as “a critical period as a result of the policies of the national government.”
In his speech, he demanded the updating of salaries and operating expenses because, he said, the public university is “in March 2024 with values of September 2022”; also the improvement of retirees and the restitution of the National Teaching Incentive Fund (FONID).
Although the call was made from civil society, several political leaders did not want to miss the call.
Among those attending the demonstration in Buenos Aires were the Peronist governor of the homonymous province, Axel Kicillof; the former Minister of Economy and Milei’s adversary in the last presidential elections, Sergio Massa; and the president of radicalism, Senator Martín Lousteau.
Before the march, the former mayor of Buenos Aires and co-founder of the Republican Proposal (center-right) party Horacio Rodríguez Larreta expressed his support; and from a balcony near Congress, former Argentine president Cristina Fernández greeted the demonstrators, who waved a university garment in her hand.
But, without a doubt, it was an event of Argentine society, which was mobilized in peace and without altercations, as the Security authorities themselves acknowledged to the television channel Todo Noticias (TN).
The events in Buenos Aires were attended by representatives of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), one of the most important in Latin America, and of other educational centers in the capital, including some private ones.
In Córdoba (center), a student center par excellence and home of the National University of Córdoba (UNC) – the oldest in the country and one of the first in Latin America, founded in 1613 – about 30,000 people were mobilized.
With a long history of student claims, the city nicknamed ‘la Docta’ was the scene of the ‘Cordobazo’ in 1969, one of the largest Latin American university mobilizations within the framework of the global protests of the late sixties, which was harshly repressed by the dictatorship that then held power (1966-1973).
During the day, there were also mobilizations in the provinces of Santa Fe, Mendoza, Entre Ríos, Río Negro, Neuquén, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Misiones, San Juan, San Luis, Santiago del Estero, Catamarca and Chubut.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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