While being here in Chile, one thing that has really stood out to me is how radical and politically active the people are. Movements such as demanding education reform and teacher work stoppage are two things I have encountered during my experience in Valparaiso, Chile. Glancing out the window of the ISA building during class one afternoon, I saw a parade of students, teachers, and other involved members marching the streets among the buses, “colectivos,” and other automobiles, while holding a banner with words in Spanish I couldn’t seem to make out.
That evening I researched the event that had taken place and found an article in The Santiago Times discussing the march, titled “Students to march Tuesday against Bachelet’s education reform.” As I heard the subtle noises of the voices coming from the window, I thought to myself, ‘why would they be doing this? Don’t they want the free education that President Bachelet is declaring?’ When Michelle Bachelet was elected, she proposed to end state subsidies to for-profit schools and eventually have free university education by 2020. I continued to read the article and learned that the students are protesting all over Chile because their lack of involvement in the process. They want more of a role in the education bill to make sure the government is hearing their needs.
The other major event that occurred during my time here in Valparaiso was a work stoppage or “un paro” by the teachers. A number of teachers stopped working as a threat to go on strike. On the same day the march took place, our group showed up to the Uruguay School in the morning per usual to work with the kids. Shortly we were informed of the work stoppage and that many of the students either may not be at school, or just choose to not participate with us. Hearing about this “paro” made me worry for the students and how it could affect the education they are receiving. I researched this event as well and read another article, “80,000 march against Bachelet’s education reform.” This article talked about the students marching in Santiago and other places all over Chile, as well as said that the National Teacher’s Union and Central Worker’s Union marched here in Valparaiso. A professor from the Unversidad de Santiago said in the article, “the current legislation does not address the needs of higher education staff and leaves teachers without job security.”
Our class read a little bit about the education reform before leaving for Chile, so we knew that it was going on. A previous march took place in May, which sparked the idea to make all education free by 2020. In addition to this, an artist named Francisco Tapia or “Papas Fritas” stole and burned $500 million dollars worth of student loan documents, so students would no longer have to pay them off. I couldn’t believe this when I read about it. I immediately began thinking of the higher education system in the United States. Although not all the universities are considered “for profit,” most students, either attending public or private colleges, are swamped with paying off loans and remain deep in debt after they graduate. Especially attending a school like St. Edward’s, majority of the students receive some type of financial assistance or a scholarship to pay tuition, but are still stuck paying off loans for a very long time.
Connecting the education reform in Chile to the education system in the U.S made me think about how different the two cultures are. In the U.S., we face similar challenges, yet we don’t have the same type of marches and protests all over the streets demanding that we should no longer have to pay for college. The students and teachers of Chile stand up for themselves and make sure their voice is heard, and I admire that aspect of Chilean culture. Seeing how radical the people are is particularly interesting to since Chile seems to be more of a Conservative country.
From my experience I have seen how passionate Chileans are about their rights. Not only about matters of education, but many other things as well, in order to create a better society as a whole. The people come together to be heard by the ones in power. I never would have guessed Chileans would be liked this, I assumed the opposite from a Conservative society, but now realize there is a pretty big gap between the students, workers, etc. and the elite or those in charge.
Overall, I learned a lot about the people here in Chile by the events that took place – the march and the strike, and learned even more about them after researching. This matters to me because I feel it is important to know about the people and what type of events normally occur here, and not just focus all on sight seeing. In light of this learning, I will continue to try and notice more major political or radical movements that take place here and to keep learning more about Chile.