Chile: Youth take to the streets demanding action


500,000 on strike and occupying schools

A WEEK-long mass movement of secondary school students in Chile,
demanding education reforms, culminated in a one million strong strike
last Monday.
The students have braved days of vicious attacks by police,
including mass arrests, to demand a new curriculum, free bus fares and
no exam fees.
In an attempt to head off Monday’s action the government made a
series of concessions but these were rejected in student assemblies.
TONY SAUNOIS has sent an eyewitness report from Santiago on
the momentous events leading up to the historic 5 June strike.

"WELCOME PRESIDENT Jacques Chirac" hoardings greeted the visiting
French President in the new 21st century metro stations of the Chilean
capital, Santiago, last week. He must have felt as if it was ‘home from
home’ as he witnessed a growing movement of secondary school students
throughout Chile.

As the week progressed, tens of thousands of secondary school
students took to the streets in protests and organised occupations of
the schools, demanding more resources for education.

Over 500,000 were either on strike or occupying schools in all the
main Chilean cities – Santiago, Concepcion, Valparaiso, Puerto Monte and
others. At one school in Santiago, students have hung a massive banner
quoting Che Guevara: "We are realists; we demand the impossible!".

Other slogans, stated: "We are the future and we demand a decent
education!", "Decent education – not for the market!" Others are
directed at the new Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet of the
‘Socialist Party’. Having taken office less than three months ago, her
coalition government is already confronted with a series of conflicts
and crises.

Capitalist coalition

ONE OF the central demands of the movement is an end of the hated
LOCE (Organic Constitutional Education Law) which was incorporated into
the constitution. This was introduced under the Pinochet dictatorship
and has been used to hand over education to local councils with few
resources and to encourage the privatisation of schools.

In demanding that this law is repealed, the students are well aware
that they are fighting for the withdrawal of one of the main props of
the neo-liberal policies of the capitalist coalition of the Christian
Democrats and Socialist Party known as Concertaci-n.

To defeat it, a change to the constitution will be needed and a
change in the policy by a majority of the parliamentarians. To achieve
such a reverse in the policy of the Chilean ruling class will require an
even more powerful movement involving the working class.

New generation

THE YOUTH protests represent a significant change in the political
situation. Chile has lagged behind other countries in Latin America in
terms of the struggles of workers and youth. At the time of the
"democratic transition", 16 years ago, most were not even born.

This is the first major struggle of a new generation that is free of
the heavy burden of the Pinochet dictatorship.

Although other struggles have broken out amongst secondary students
in previous years, this battle has revealed a significant development in
the political consciousness of these very young fighters.

In the last few years, protests have demanded free bus passes, an
increase of ten pesos in travel allowances and other changes. This year,
as one young person put it outside a school in central Santiago, "That
was no good. Now we must change the entire education system".

Brutal repression

The government has been taken aback by the scale and speed with which
this movement has developed. It has responded with brutal repression. In
this they have over-stepped the mark and only produced overwhelming
opposition to the police repression.

While groups of young students roam the streets with placards
demanding a decent education, they are beaten, tear-gassed and drenched
with water cannon in the same way that the generation of young people
were under the hated Pinochet regime.

On 30 May a national strike of all education, including the
universities was called to support the students who have the support of
teachers and parents. The student leaders applied for permission to
organise a rally in the Parque O’Higgins which was refused by the
police.

Once permission for a rally had been refused, the national leadership
of the teachers’ federation – Colegio de Profesores – called for a "day
of reflection" to support the youth. This was a clear attempt to prevent
the movement from developing further.

In Santiago, the local Metropolitan Teachers’ Union called a rally in
the Plaza de Las Armas. Thousands of teachers and students attended and
attempted to march into the city centre. Across the city groups of
students from different school marched around the streets chanting,
"Students and teachers forward together". Tear gas floated through the
city as it did under the Pinochet dictatorship. Police fired tear gas
into schools occupied by students in the city centre. By the evening
groups of students and supporters were chanting "ÀDonde esta Bachelet?"
("Where is Bachelet?").

Organisation

It is urgent if the movement is to be victorious that it is organised
more effectively and extended to all sections of the working class. In
the schools occupied some are only allowing a limited number of students
to join the occupation.

In one school visited by members of Socialismo Revolucionario (SR –
Chilean section of the CWI) the students have organised commissions for
food, security and even getting daily newspapers. But although in the
schools occupied the students are well organised, there is not a
democratic structure for the conducting of the struggle

Action committees need to be elected in all schools and linked up on
a district, city-wide and national basis to organise the strike and work
out strategy and tactics. But if the movement is to be sustained and
developed the struggle must be broadened to involve other sections of
workers. The youth must not be left to fight alone.

This is the lesson of the recent victory of the movement in France
that members of SR in Chile are explaining in leaflets and meetings. The
calling of a 24-hour general strike by the trade unions of all workers
is essential to mobilise more support for the secondary students and
force the government to withdraw the hated LOCE. This struggle of the
secondary school students opens a new phase in the struggle of the
Chilean youth and working class.


Government pursues neo-liberal policies

THE RECENTLY elected Bachelet government has already shown that it is
intent on continuing the neo-liberal polices of its predecessor headed
by President Lagos.

The character of this ‘socialist’ government was revealed in one
incident. A young Argentinean activist, Jorge Gonzalez, was travelling
on a bus and witnessed the police viciously beating a group of young
people.

He intervened to ask what right the police had to act in such a way.
He was arrested for his trouble, along with about 100 students. Denied
access to his lawyer he was taken to the Argentine border and left with
no passport or money.

At the same time, the former Peruvian dictator, Fujimori, is
permitted to freely walk the streets in Chile and avoid deportation and
prosecution in Lima.

Massive inequality

WHILE THE Chilean ‘economic miracle’ has resulted in a significant
development of infrastructure in transport and to an extent housing, the
vast majority of the benefit of this boom has gone to the ruling class.

The richest 20% take 62% of national income while the poorest 20%
struggle to exist on only 3.3% of national income. Health and education
have not been developed at all.