Student protest in Mexico turns violent, 176 arrested

Mexican students protesting a new curriculum threw homemade explosives, fired rockets and hurled stones at police in a melee Monday that left 176 arrested and 10 police officers injured, officials said. The protesting students are preparing to become teachers in rural areas, and they are angry because the new curriculum includes English and computer science, which they see as low-priority subjects in poor rural areas of Mexico. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets against the students in this city in western Michoacan state. Students protested after talks with state authorities on the disputed curriculum collapsed. They also fought police with sticks and firecrackers. The students have been holding more than 40 city buses in their possession since October 4, and during Monday's protest they set fire to 13 of them.