Chilean student movement leads uprising for transformation of the country

Chilean students have been staging demonstrations for weeks to protest against the country's privatised system of education. Their agitation for 'free education for all' is part of a broader movement to liberate the country from the vestiges of the political, economic and social order imposed by the Pinochet dictatorship.

Roger Burbach

CHILE is becoming a part of the global movement of youth that is transforming the world bit by bit - the Arab Spring, the sit-ins and demonstrations in the Spanish plazas, and the rebellion of youth in London.

Weeks of demonstrations and strikes by Chilean students came to a head on 9 August, as an estimated 100,000 people poured into the streets of Santiago. Joined by professors and educators, they were demanding free education for all, from the primary school level to the university.

In the riotous confrontations that took place between bands of youth and the police, tear gas canisters were fired into the crowds, and 273 people were arrested. Later on, in the cool winter evening, the deafening noise of people banging on their pots and pans in support of the students could be heard throughout Santiago, the country's capital city of six million.

Under the 17-year dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, much of Chile's educational system was privatised, and even after he left power in 1990, private education continued to prevail. Today, 70% of university students attend private institutions. Private education is sustained by the constitution drawn up during the Pinochet regime, and educational entrepreneurs capitalised on it.

Camila Vallejo, the elected president of the Student Federation of the University of Chile and one of the main leaders of the national protests, proclaims: 'We need quality education for everyone. It is a right. Chilean society cannot move forward without it.'

Twenty students from the secondary schools are currently on a hunger strike and are willing to forgo the academic year, even die for the cause.

Alina Gonzales, a 16-year-old participant in the secondary school strike, told New America Media: 'We will do what it takes to change this system and our lives.'

The students are part of a broader movement that is calling for the transformation of Chile. In recent months, copper mine workers have gone on strike, massive mobilisations have taken place to stop the construction of a huge complex of dam and energy projects in the Bio Bio region of southern Chile, gay rights and feminist activists have marched in the streets, and the Mapuche indigenous peoples have continued to demand the restoration of their ancestral lands.

Faced with the intransigence of the conservative government of billionaire President Sebastian Pinera, the movement is calling for a national plebiscite. Vallejo, who is also a member of the Communist youth organisation, asserts, 'If the government is not capable of responding to us, we will have to demand another non-institutional solution: the convocation of a plebiscite so that the citizens can decide on the educational future of the country.'

Forty-two social organisations grouped together under the banner 'Democracy for Chile' have rallied to back the student movement. Their manifesto proclaims: 'The economic, social and political system is in a profound crisis that has compelled the communities to mobilise . An unprecedented and historic movement of citizens is questioning the bases of the economic and political order that were imposed in 1980' by the Pinochet constitution.

Picking up on the students' call for a referendum, the manifesto argues that it should be 'multi-thematic' and allow voters to decide whether to convene a constituent assembly that would have the power to draft a new constitution.

In recent years, there has been a growing call for an end to the neo-liberal order and the attendant political system that concentrates power in the hands of a political elite. As in Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela, there is a movement to reshape the nation with a constitution that allows for popular participation at all levels of government. Fundamental rights would be recognised, including the right to free education, health care, culture, and the right to choose one's sexual orientation.

President Pinera refuses to endorse the call for a plebiscite. His approval rating now stands at 26%. The day after the massive demonstrations, he signed a token law calling for 'quality education'. He denounced supporters of universal free education, arguing that it would represent a transfer of wealth to the privileged since 'the poor would pay taxes that benefit the more fortunate' who attend the universities.

Chile is at a crossroads. In the two decades since the fall of the dictatorship, many Chileans have succumbed to consumerism, as shopping malls and credit cards have proliferated with the 'Chilean  Economic  Miracle' that has seen annual growth rates of 6%. But many Chileans want a more meaningful society. They recall the Chilean tradition of democratic socialism that was snuffed out with the overthrow of President Salvador Allende on 11 September 1973.

New mobilisations are planned, including a national strike. The call has also gone out for similar demonstrations in other Latin American countries.- New America Media 

Roger Burbach is the director of the Center for the Study of the Americas (CENSA).

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Pinera yields and calls for talks

AFTER three months of mass protests that provoked a sharp drop in his popularity, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera agreed on 26 August to negotiate with students and teachers demanding more state funding for education and profound changes in government.

Pinera, who leads Chile's conservative coalition, made the call for dialogue as people recovered from a two-day (24-25 August) nationwide strike called by the country's largest union organisation.

As students, teachers and pot-banging families around the country joined in, the strike turned into a huge protest against his 18-month-old government.

Most marchers were peaceful but scattered violence marred the protests, and a 16-year-old boy was shot to death on 25 August, allegedly by a police bullet, as officers responded to looting and riots. Nearly 1,400 people were arrested nationwide, and more than 200 police and civilians were injured.

'After more than three months in which we've seen violence and conflict flourish, now is the time for peace, the time for unity, the time for dialogue, the time for agreements,' Pinera said.

He took care to invite representatives of all the sectors involved - students, teachers, parents, professors and those who run the nation's schools and universities - and say that education reform talks should take place in the presidential palace as well as Congress.

That represents an about-face for Pinera, who had avoided talking directly with protesting students or openly considering their demands before sending his 21-point package of education proposals to Congress.

The students had their own list when they began taking over high schools and universities three months ago, from more state funding to better teacher training, and a guarantee of free quality education to all Chileans. But their demands grew to include a new constitution to replace the top-down political system dictated by Gen. Augusto Pinochet's regime, and popular referendums to give Chileans a direct voice in their democracy.

Union organisers of the nationwide strike added their own list, including major changes to pensions, health care and the labour code.

Camilo Ballesteros, student president at the University of Santiago, praised Pinera's overture.

The student leader at the University of Concepcion, Guillermo Petersen, credited the movement's pressure for changing the president's mind, but said it remains to be seen how willing Pinera will be to make real concessions.

Students planned to decide over the 27-28 August weekend how to respond. The presidents of Chile's House and Senate, representing leftist and rightist parties, had offered to sponsor negotiations, but Pinera and the students were both leery of participating. (The Confederation of Students of Chile has since accepted Pinera's invitation to meet. - Editor)

Union members estimated that 600,000 people participated in the 25 August marches nationwide. Police offered no nationwide numbers, but estimated far lower crowds in Santiago. - MercoPress        

*Third World Resurgence No. 251/252, July/August 2011, pp 47-48