As we go to press, 800,000 high school and college students persist in a fourth week of strikes throughout Chile while student leaders attempt to reach an agreement with the Ministry of Education over their complex set of demands.
What began in May as set of requests for free id cards, public transportation and more accessible prices for Chile's college entrance exam has since grown into the largest mobilization the country has seen since the protests that ended military rule in the late eighties.
While university student are participating in strikes and marches the face of the movement and force behind it are "los secudarios" - secondary school students, age 13-18.
A recent poll taken shows that the secondary school movement enjovs an 8/ per Speakers include: cent approval rating trom their compatriots, while only 16 percent of Chileans support the presidency's response to the mobilization.
Workers in the health field also went on strike last week, inquiring about resources owed to them by government.
In the capital, Valparaíso, employees of LIDER, Chile's largest department store, marched alongside students during the general strike on June 6.
Also present were several indigenous Mapuches bearing their nation's flag, who were thanked for their presence and offered solidarity with their political prisoners in a speech by student leaders.
Following the non-violent march of 14,000 in the streets of Valparaíso, one of various new stencils spray-painted around the city reads loud and clear, "Bachelet — give up the money for free education."
Beyond street art, the Malet Street WC1 Socialist Resistance dayschool strategies that the current secondary school movement is employing are forms protest that have a history in Chile.
With this political consciousness present, students have occupied 46.7 percent of secondary schools throughout the country in the last two weeks.
Over 1,000 students have been arrested in Santiago in une past two weeks and ponce have used their traditional tactics of tear gas and tanks equipped with contaminated water to force protestors away trom a march or action.
Despite president Michelle Bachelet's dismissal of the chief of police responsible for oraering acts or ponce Drulality that occurred on May 30, violence has persisted in the capital. While student leaders in Santiago requested that
Iclalll their schools for the Monday's national strike in order to 10.30 am: Registration 11 am: Opening Plenary
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for the Socialist Resistance Here is a cheque/PO for • £10 waged/• £4 unwaged payable I to 'Resistance'. I 2nd it to us at: Socialist Resistance, PO Box 1109, London Na ..... avoid potential police conflicts, 20,000 took to the streets downtown.
Since the strike began on May L/ many secondary
have embarked on the process of understanding the law that structures education in Chile.
The students of Liceo B-30 and many other have been able to do so with the help of university students who have provided them with materials and given them brief lectures about une poncs lal elect the quality of education in Chile.
The Organic Constitutional Education Law (LOCE) of 1990 was dictator Augusto Pinochet's last stab at reforming Chile's social institutions. LOCE officially makes lne management of pri mary and secondary schools the business of whoever has the money to purchase and run a school.
Miguel Paz of La Nación Domingo reports, "it should not come as a surprise, then, that the most prestigious and Yes! I want an advance ticket Name Over 1,000 students have been arrested in Santiago in the past two weeks and police have used their traditional tools of tear gas and tanks successful schools are linked to the big businesses of the right, to Opus Dei, to the Legions of Christ, and to other ex-authorities of the dictatorship."
While Bachelet's major claim throughout her run for the presidency was her desire to augment the participatory side of democracy, her current challenge is how to convince her electorate that their say matters, when Chile's constitution is based in a profound mistrust of the people's ability to positively effect the future of their country.
In an open letter to the student activists of today's movement, Lawerence Maxwell, Chilean novelist, sociologist and student activist of the eighties, reflects "What you all have done, the marches, Our main speakers: Celia Hart is the daughter of two historic leaders of
articles on Trotsky
Revolution.
Michael Löwy was born in Brazil and is Researc
America. Address Email Phone Email us: [email protected] or ring 020 8800 7460 ............
the long days of striking and "tomas", has shaker national consciousness that had been sleeping and this already is important..." press release on Wednesday June the spokesperson of the Coordinating Assembly of Secondary Students (Aces) Karina Delfino announced that students will continue to strike until the government agrees to give half of the seats on a committee that will look into reforming education in Chile to student participants. With the strength of 800,000 behind her, the 18year-old told the country, "We are not disposed to accept this commission as it is proposed by the President." • Liz Munsell is an independent journalist and photographer from the U.S., currently working and doing research Valparaiso, Chile. This piece is an excerpt from Narco News. The full text can be found on-line http://www.narconews.com/Issu e41/article1882.html the Cuban Revolution, Armando Hart and the late Haydée Santamaria. A physicist, writer and member of the Cuban Communist Party, she describes herself as a "freelance Trotskyist". She has published many
and
irector in Sociology at the CNRS (National Centr for Scientific Research) in Paris. His many books include: The Marxism of Che Guevara; Marxism and Liberation Theology; Fatherland or Mother Earth? and The War of Gods: Religion and Politics in Latin
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