At least 73 students have been arrested in Santiago, Chile, after police were authorized to remove protesters taking part in the occupation of public schools in the capital. 

The authorization came from Santiago Mayor Pablo Zalaquett, who has said: 

“We must stop this. Enough. Here we have people who want to study, and people that want to destroy. If they want to destroy, we must take the respective action.”

The first storming of the schools were seen at Liceo Miguel de Cervantes where 32 people were arrested, and Liceo Dario Salas where a further 41 were arrested. 

Students in Chile have been demonstrating for over a year, in what has been dubbed the 'Chilean Winter'. The protesters demand free and equal education, and despite promises from the government to address the education system, students have not accepted this and demand further action. 

Protests held by the students over the last year have been met with arguably increasingly harsh police tactics. Marches have been dispersed using tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. The forcible removal of the students from occupied schools will be seen as further police brutality against participants.