Any notions
that there was truth to Michelle Bachelet's claim that her recently
elected Chilean government is "socialist" have been obliterated
by the magnificent mass struggle of the young people of Chile.
School students, who were demanding funding for public education, books,
teachers and an end to college entry exams that discriminated against
working class and poor youth, were greeted with brutal repression from
the state, reminiscent of the Pinochet era. Police use of water-cannons,
tear-gas and violence failed to quell the determination of Chile's youth.
The struggle raged for several weeks and saw some of the largest demonstrations
in the history of the country, with more than a million students participating.
Strikes, boycotts and mass demonstrations meant that many schools were
shut down for weeks. The Coordinating Assembly of Grade School Students
called upon the school students to strike. As the stuggle developed,
organising committees were set up in various schools and the young fighters
learned valuable lessons about how to conduct and organise struggle.
The teachers’ union took its lead from the young people of Chile,
leading to some united demonstrations of teachers and students demanding
publicly funded education. The movement forced significant concessions
from Bachelet, including an increase in the education budget of $200
million and an end to the national college entrance exam fee.
One of the most vital demands of the movement was an end to market infiltration
and private enterprise in the arena of education. In this way, the struggle
was inherently a head-on confrontation with the neo-liberal agenda that
has seen the criminal privatisation of aspects of all sectors of the
economy to the benefit of multi-national corporations throughout Latin
America in the 80s and 90s.
Recent events in Chile can be seen as part of a broader continental
revolt against neo-liberalism and the poverty and misery that this neo-colonialism
inflicts on the majority in Latin America. This continental revolt has
already swept some populist leaders to power who have carried out important
reforms that challenge imperialism - notably in Venezuela and Bolivia.
As the struggle develops, socialist ideas will be forced onto the agenda
as the only real way of delivering an end to poverty and a genuine break
from imperialist domination of the region.
The average age of the participants in these events in Chile was 16.
Without first-hand experience of the horrors of dictatorship, the young
people rose up with the overwhelming support - over 80% - of the population.
Just as the Chilean school-students were inspired by recent events in
France, so too will the Chilean working class be inspired and imbued
with confidence of their own potential power, by the heroic struggle
of their youth.
