When Ricardo told his story about seeking political asylum from Pinochet, the facet that most interested me was his activism at university. Similar to protests of the Vietnam War in the United States, colleges were host to activities and influential groups that opposed the regime. Hearing from someone so closely involved to that unrest prompted further investigation into the role of students in Chile.
National protests to Pinochet came in force when the country faced economic crisis in the 1980s. Students were a driving force behind the unrest as members of social organizations that supported political parties. Civilians mobilized for a few years, but the regime violently suppressed them and forced a change of tactics. The nation united on a political front instead, electing to remove Pinochet from power in a plebiscite vote in 1988. Since then, Chile has experienced great economic and political success.
Political quiet prevailed until 2006, when demonstrations took place at over 950 secondary schools throughout the country. Protests also emerged in 2011, leading to the largest wave of demonstrations since before the return to democracy. One key contributor to discontent was the public’s raised expectations for the government. Despite the country’s apparent economic success, high tuition rates and inequality in schools restricted educational capabilities. The protests reached such a large scale because students were of a new generation that were not ruled by Pinochet. Activists did not fear their actions would destabilize the democracy, anointing them the “fearless generation”. In the future, Chile’s of students will continue to have a major impact on the country’s political landscape.
Reference: Cummings, Peter M.M. (2015) “Democracy and Student Discontent: Chilean Student Protest in the Post-Pinochet Era”. Journal of Politics in Latin America, 7:3 pp. 49-84.
National protests to Pinochet came in force when the country faced economic crisis in the 1980s. Students were a driving force behind the unrest as members of social organizations that supported political parties. Civilians mobilized for a few years, but the regime violently suppressed them and forced a change of tactics. The nation united on a political front instead, electing to remove Pinochet from power in a plebiscite vote in 1988. Since then, Chile has experienced great economic and political success.
Political quiet prevailed until 2006, when demonstrations took place at over 950 secondary schools throughout the country. Protests also emerged in 2011, leading to the largest wave of demonstrations since before the return to democracy. One key contributor to discontent was the public’s raised expectations for the government. Despite the country’s apparent economic success, high tuition rates and inequality in schools restricted educational capabilities. The protests reached such a large scale because students were of a new generation that were not ruled by Pinochet. Activists did not fear their actions would destabilize the democracy, anointing them the “fearless generation”. In the future, Chile’s of students will continue to have a major impact on the country’s political landscape.
Reference: Cummings, Peter M.M. (2015) “Democracy and Student Discontent: Chilean Student Protest in the Post-Pinochet Era”. Journal of Politics in Latin America, 7:3 pp. 49-84.