La Marcha de los Pinguinos

It is late summer in Santiago and the pingüinos (penguins) have just returned to school in their black and white uniforms.

The students captured the attention of the country for most of 2006, when they carried out a series of paros (strikes), building seizures and marches in protest of Chile’s educational system.

Like many of the social programs that most Americans take for granted, including social security, the K-12 education system in Chile was privatized during the dictatorship. At the end of his rule, Pinochet changed the Chilean constitution to preserve the neoliberal reforms instituted after 1973 and to protect himself and his cronies from prosecution. Because la transicion (the transition to democracy) was carried out nonviolently through elections, the constitution was not changed and many of the representatives are carry-overs from the dictatorship. It has proved very difficult to reverse many of the radical changes put in place during the dictatorship. As my father noted, this should serve as a warning to Americans who hope to see the nakedly pro-corporote, anti-citizens’ rights agenda of the Bush Administration reversed in the next few years.

Schools in Chile are run by private corporations and all but the very poorest students pay tuition and are required to provide their own materials. The government is reduced to a more or less regulatory role. Needless to say, this explains the unconscionable education gap in Chile, which goes a long way to explaining the equally unconscionable wealth gap.

The students were entirely self-organized and their organization was horizontal and highly democratic. Thanks to new technologies such as the internet and cell phones, there was a high degree of coordination throughout the country and rapid mobilizations throughout the year in response to government actions or inaction. During the largest march, in late May, as many as one million high school students (in a country of 18 million people) participated in the paro. This was the largest student march in Chilean history, including the marches in support of Allende's reforms in the 1970s, and the marches in opposition to Pinochet in the 1980s.

The 2006 mobilizations came to be known somewhat playfully as La Marcha de los Pingüinos (The March of the Penguins). In fact, the students happily adopted the penguin as their mascot. Building seizures were common, but rather than resulting in damage, students often used their time inside to do school repairs. They were supported by many teachers, college students, labor unions and workers, who participated in some of the paros and marches.

There were several violent clashes with the police during the year. Though the protesters were responsible for some property damage (during the marches), there is a strong sense that the police response was out of proportion. Marchers and protesters were sprayed with fire hoses and tear gas, including those standing outside the National Library (about 10 minutes walk from my house) to support the student leaders meeting with the government. In fact, Bachelet’s government met repeatedly with the students throughout the year, but they were not able to reach an agreement. Furthermore, any agreement would have to be approved by the National Congress, which as noted earlier, includes many holdovers from the Pinochet regime. However, the protests succeeded in sparking a national dialogue on education reform. Only time will tell what results this will produce.

In terms of the social impact, this generation of students, the so-called “Nintendo generation” (for their apathy), proved themselves capable of an impressive organization and militancy which no doubt will leave lasting effects. Remember, these were mostly high school students. Imagine if students in the United States could organize themselves even half as effectively: it would be a very different country.