In Chile, students adopt a new form of protest

Massive student protests in 2006 — which sought to end to profit-making in education and the municipalization of public education — brought the rise of a new student movement, then dubbed the “penguin revolution” in reference to the navy blue and white school uniforms. At the time, a million high school students — supported by university students — shut down their schools and protested for more than a month, prompting the government to create a special commission on education system reforms.

But the government so watered down the commission’s recommendations that the law — now on the brink of enactment — bears no resemblance to the students’ original demands, and is fiercely opposed by students, teachers and parents. The government has introduced two complementary bills to the law, which are now before congressional committees. Still, none of these bills satisfy the educational community.

On June 21, representatives of several universities, high schools and the Teachers Union demanded that the government withdraw the bills and wait for the proposals of a “National Congress on Education” they are organizing for late August.

Some of the candidates vying for election in December have heard the message. The government candidate, Eduardo Frei, recently announced that as president, he would promote major educational reform with a greater role for the state, but he stops short of calling for an end to the municipalization of schools. Independent candidate Marco Enriquez-Ominami and the candidate on the left, Jorge Arrate, are supporting the outright de-municipalization of education.

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