Protests are so common here in Chile, I had to read back through my entire blog to see if I had written about them before. I couldn't find an entry about them, so this being Labor Day in Chile (and in many other parts of the world), I think it is high time that something be said about this phenomenon.

First, Labor Day in the States is something like a picnic day, coming right at the end of summer as it does. But when you think of Labor Day in Chile, you have to think "labor union". Today seems to be set aside as the official protest-against-your-employer day in the whole country. It is always on May first, and so this year it lands on a Tuesday.

Protesting in Chile is just what you do. If you want more pay, you strike. If you want better benefits, you have a picket line. If you want to work less hours for the same pay, you have a march. The key is to disrupt the normal course of events (the traffic, the tranquility, and definitely the workday) in order to embarrass your employer (or the government, depending on your reason for the protest) into complying with your wishes.

There are lots of ways that this plays out. A calm, peaceful protest usually involves a march of the interested party somewhere downtown. They will carry signs on posterboard, blow whistles, chant their sayings, and be accompanied by police who ensure their safety as they block vehicle traffic and disrupt normal sidewalk traffic. In the end, they usually take the rest of the day off and sometimes receive what they requested.

Other protests, usually when students get a little too excited about their cause of the week, can involve rock-throwing (usually at the police), barracading the gates of their schools with chairs and desks, tearing down outdoor signs (both street signs and advertizing), looting stores, vandalism of bus stops, burning tires in the street, and occasionally a Molitov coctail or two. In such cases, the police presence protects the people and businesses around the protesters by wearing riot gear, arresting those involved (just overnight without pressing charges, unless they are a leader of the movement), breaking up the crowd with tear gas, and sometimes using the water cannon.

So far today is a quiet, cloudy day. Maybe the protests will all be peaceful today. But I will definitely keep an eye out for a police water cannon driving through town, and drive the opposite way. Happy May Day!