The 2011–2013 Chilean protests – known as the Chilean Winter (in particular reference to the massive protests of August 2011) or the Chilean Education Conflict (as labelled in Chilean media) – were a series of student-led protests across Chile, demanding a new framework for education in the country, including more direct state participation in secondary education and an end to the existence of profit in higher education. Currently in Chile, only 45% of high school students study in traditional public schools and most universities are also private. No new public universities have been built since the end of the Chilean transition to democracy in 1990, even though the number of university students has increased.
Beyond the specific demands regarding education, there was a feeling that the protests reflected a "deep discontent" among some parts of society with Chile's high level of inequality. Protests included massive non-violent marches, but also a considerable amount of violence on the part of a side of protestors as well as riot police.
The first clear government response to the protests was a proposal for a new education fund and a cabinet shuffle which replaced Minister of Education Joaquín LavínCanales, Javier . La Tercera July 18, 2011. Access date July 18, 2011 and was seen as not fundamentally addressing student movement concerns. Other government proposals were also rejected.
Student protestors did not achieve all their objectives, but they contributed to a dramatic fall in Sebastián Piñera's approval rating, which was measured at 26–30% in August 2011 polls by respected Chilean pollsters and had not increased by January 2012.
Background
The onset of the 2011 Chilean protests have been attributed to several causes. The Economist explained the protests as being the result of "one of world’s lowest levels of public funding for higher education, some of the longest degrees and no comprehensive system of student grants or subsidized loans" and a flat job market as the detonant.The struggle to make the grade, The Economist, October 8, 2011. Historian Gabriel Salazar describes the student conflict as being the continuation of a long strife between popular citizen movements and civic and military dictatorships. BBC have attributed "students' anger" to "a perception that Chile's education system is grossly unfair – that it gives rich students access to some of the best schooling in Latin America while dumping poor pupils in shabby, under-funded state schools."Chile student protests point to deep discontent, BBC
Many newspapers and analysts have traced the protests back to the 2006 Penguin Revolution that occurred during the government of Michelle Bachelet, some claiming that these are the same secondary students who headed the 2006 movement that when in university are heading the 2011 student protests.De protesterar för att nästa generation ska få en god utbildning ERGO, October 2011 Bachelet has defended the legacy of her government and said that in the aftermath of the Penguin Revolution the right-wing opposition prevented them from eliminating for-profit activity in education.Bachelet y educación: Quisimos avanzar, no pudimos; hoy está la oportunidad, Emol, October 7, 2011. Right-wing politician Cristián Monckeberg responded to this by saying that if Bachelet had solved the problem in 2006, the students would not be protesting now.RN: Si Bachelet hubiese resuelto los problemas los estudiantes no estarían marchando, Emol, October 8, 2011. On June 5 it was noted in the Chilean TV discussion show Tolerancia Cero that the Chilean students protests followed a cyclic pattern with major protests every 5 or 7 years.
Víctor Lobos, intendant of Biobío Region attributed the protests to the increasing number of children born outside matrimony claiming that this condition made them susceptible to "anarchism".Intendente del Biobío atribuye a "hijos fuera del matrimonio" el estallido social, Emol, August 25, 2011.
Demands
University students University students are represented by CONFECH, the Confederation of Chilean Student Federations, a national body made up of student governments at Chilean universities and led by Camila Vallejo of the University of Chile and Giorgio Jackson of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. The CONFECH's proposal, known as the "Social Agreement for Chilean Education" (Acuerdo Social por la Educación Chilena), demands: Increased state support for public universities, which currently finance their activities mostly through tuition More equitable admissions process to prestigious universities, with less emphasis on the Prueba de Selección Universitaria standardized test Free public education, so access to higher education doesn't depend on families' economic situation. Creation of a government agency to apply the law against profit in higher education and prosecute those universities that are allegedly using loopholes to profit. The students oppose direct (fellowship and voucher) and indirect government aid (government-backed loans) to for-profit schools. A more serious accreditation process to improve quality and end indirect state support for poor quality institutions Creation of an "intercultural university" that meets the unique demands of Mapuche students Repeal of laws forbidding student participation in university governance
High school students
High school students are more loosely organized than the university students, with no national federation. However, their demands have also been included in CONFECH's proposal and include: Central government control over secondary and primary public schools, to replace the current system of municipal control which allegedly leads to inequalities The application of Chile's school voucher system in pre-school, primary and secondary levels be applicable only to nonprofit schools. The Chilean system, although defended by researchers linked to The Heritage Foundation, is criticized by researchers like Martin Carnoy, Lessons of Chile's Voucher Reform Movement , Martin Carnoy blaming it for the tremendous inequalities across all the Chilean educational system, measured by OECD's standards. Increases in state spending. Chile only spends 4.4% of GDP on education, compared to the 7% of GDP recommended by the UN for developed nations. Additionally, Chile ranks behind only Peru in educational segregation among the 65 countries that take the PISA test. Prominent Chilean education researcher Mario Waissbluth has called the Chilean system "educational apartheid" Use of student bus pass throughout the year Development of more vocational high schools Reconstruction of schools damaged during the 2010 Chilean earthquake Moratorium on the creation of new voucher/charter schools Higher pay for teachers and a national plan to attract the best talent to the profession and raise its social stature.
Additionally, some segments of the student movement have called for additional changes, such as a constitutional amendment guaranteeing quality education, an increase in the tax rate of higher earners (which is low in comparison to OECD countries), . higher taxes for foreign extractors of or renationalization of Chile's copper resources.
First wave of protests
The 2011 student protests in Chile began gradually in May, and can be traced to the so-called "penguin revolution", or 2006 student protests in Chile. It is also important to note that the student protests began on the heels of other national protests, over the HidroAysén dam project and gas prices in Magallanes Province. The protests are commonly portrayed as a new social movement loosely based on Spain's 15-M Movement or even the Arab Spring.
The protests were triggered in part by the initiative of the then-Minister of Education Joaquín Lavín to increase government funding of non-traditional Universities. Although, officially nonprofit, some of these institutions were known to use legal loopholes to turn profits. Lavín had invested in several firms that render services to Universidad del Desarrollo.
According to students cited by El Mercurio on June 13, there were 100 schools being occupied by students as a form of protest,Estudiantes secundarios se han tomado cerca de cien colegios en todo el país, Emol of which 80 were in the Santiago Metropolitan Region Secundarios entregarán petitorio al subsecretario de Educación , La Tercera Sources differ; Chilean police listed on June 13 only 50 schools as occupied.
On June 30, there was a massive demonstration that mobilized between one hundred and two hundred thousand demonstrators.
The student protests have included several creative acts which received foreign media attention, such as flash mobs and kiss-ins.
July 2011 government proposal
On July 5 Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced in a televised speech educational reforms that his government planned to enact in order to satisfy the student demands. The plans announced revolved mainly around a project labelled "GANE" (Spanish acronym for Grand National Accord of Education, forming the Spanish word for win), which would cost 4 billion dollars.Cadena Nacional de Radio y Televisión: Presidente Piñera anunció Gran Acuerdo Nacional por la Educación Government of Chile. July 5, 2011. Accessdate July 5, 2011 The project is to be, if implemented, financed from the Funds of Economical and Social Stabilization (Fondo de Estabilización Económica y Social or FEES) with which a fund named Fund for the Education (Fondo por la Educación) will be created from which the dividends and interest (under 300 million dollars) will be used annually to support public education.
Piñera also announced the shaping of a new legal framework for universities which will allow higher education providers to legally engage in for-profit activity and rejected the public ownership of education proposed by students as a "serious mistake and something that damages deeply the quality as well as the freedom of education".
The announcement was received with skepticism by students, some of whom criticized harshly the announcements. Camila Vallejo, one of the movement's spokespersons and the president of the University of Chile student federation said that the presidential discourse "was a great disappointment and a backward step" and emphasized that the proposal to legalize for-profit activity in education, which is currently illegal but widely practised in private institutions, goes against the Chilean state of law and that the government rejected categorically the main point presented by the secondary students which was to place public secondary and primary education under state management instead of being under municipalities.Camila Vallejo: El discurso de Piñera fue una gran decepción y un retroceso, Radio Cooperativa July 6, 2011 Accessdate July 6 of 2010
Additionally, some opposition senators from the center-left Concertación criticized the speech, signaling that the proposal was not "in tune with the student movement"Senadores arremeten contra propuesta gubernamental para la educación Oliveros, Iván. Radio Biobío/UPI July 6, 2011. Access date July 6, 2011 After the televised speech students of the University of Chile went out from the university to protest against the proposal blocking transit in Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins before confrontations with special forces of the police.Cerca de 200 estudiantes se toman por breves minutos la Alameda en las afueras del Mineduc Oliveros, Iván. Radio Biobío/UPI July 6, 2011. Access date July 6, 2011
Continued protests