Global Voices » Peter Jones

Thousands March Reviving Chile's Student Movement

Peter Jones — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:19:48 +0000

With a massive protest at the national level, the student movement demanding free, quality education returned to the streets of Chile in full force.

Using slogans like “and it’s going to fall, it’s going to fall, the education of Pinochet…and Bachelet,” students from throughout the country gathered April 11, 2013 in civic centers of the country's various cities to return to the request that the government provide a real solution to the inequality and profit in education. The organizers said that between 120,000 and 150,000 people joined the march in Santiago, becoming the largest protest in many months.

Karol Cariola (@Karolcariola) [es], former president of the FEC (Federation of Students at the University of Concepcion) [es] and leader of the communist youth

@Karolcariola: Mañana a las 11 hrs. En Plaza Italia marchamos por la educación pública gratuita y de calidad!! Chile se lo merece, la paciencia se acabó.

@Karolcariola: Tomorrow at 11 o’clock. In Plaza Italia we will march for free, public quality education!! Chile deserves it, patience has run out.

Actor Benjamín Vicuña (@benjaminvicunaMORI) [es] supported this new call, together with many netizens under the tag #NosVemosel11 (#SeeYouonthe11) [es]:

@benjaminvicunaMORI: Porque la única manera de cambiar el orden de las cosas, es desde una educación digna y gratuita #NosVemosEl11

@benjaminvicunaMORI: Because the only way of changing the order of things is from a decent and free education #NosVemosEl11

Social scientist Alberto Mayol wrote in his blog [es] about the origin of the student movement that began in 2011.

Students in the march of April 11, 2013 in Santiago, Chile. Photo from Flickr user Nicolas Roblez Fritz. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

El movimiento estudiantil de 2011 tiene como uno de sus pilares las injusticias del modelo educativo, pero añade a ello un diagnóstico sobre la sociedad y un cuestionamiento de la estructura en que se han articulado lo público y lo privado, siendo esa tensión la que está en el trasfondo,

The student movement of 2011 has as one of its pillars the injustices of the education model, but adds to it a diagnosis for society and a questioning of the structure in which the public and private has been articulated, this being the tension in the background.

Some netizens like La Anti Psicóloga (@janetnoseda) [es] commented happily that the movement will continue to live.

@janetnoseda: apuesta del GOB al descarte del mov. Estudiantil falló pq #NoEstánSolos. Chile entero quiere otra educación! @el_dinamo @elquintopoder

@janetnoseda: the Government’s commitment to discard the student movement failed bc #NoEstánSolos (#You’reNotAlone) [es]. All of Chile wants another education! @el_dinamo [es] @elquintopoder [es]

While representatives of the actual government, like the Defense Minister Rodrigo Hintzpeter (@rhinzpeter) [es], rejected this new protest.

@rhinzpeter: Voceros del movimiento estudiantil hablan bajo mismo formato de 2011. No son capaces de reconocer nada de lo hecho en 2 años. Es un Dejavu.

@rhinzpeter: The spokespeople of the student movement speak in the same format as in 2011. They are not capable of recognizing anything that has been done in 2 years. It’s déjà vu.

On the recent citizen movements in Chile, among them the student one, Luis Pachecho wrote in El Quinto Poder a column called “Lo Inevitable: El Devenir de los Cambios” [es] (“The Inevitable: The Evolution of the Changes”) that talks about the fear of “revolution” that such movements provoke.

Hay miedo y casi terror en los sectores más conservadores, de que se produzcan cambios que terminen con esta supuesta sociedad equilibrada y se vuelva a viejos escenarios de la política chilena.

Quienes así piensan, se equivocan en la forma y en el fondo. [...] Ciertamente cualquier cambio de estructura significa una revolución en la sociedad, que no tiene porque ser ni violenta ni traumática. [...]

There is fear and almost terror in the most conservative sectors, of what these changes could produce that end with an allegedly balanced society and becomes old Chilean policy scenarios.

Those who think like this are wrong in their form and substance […] Certainly, any change in structure signifies a revolution in society, which doesn’t have to be either violent or traumatic. […]

The truth is that the rebirth of the movement puts into context the next electoral race and many ask themselves whether or not this will affect the result of the elections. Students, on the one hand, have detached themselves from ties to any particular political party or candidate. Even the rejection of the management of the former president- and actual candidate for the presidency-Michelle Bachelet became apparent on the subject of education as much in the slogans as on the web. Thereon, biochemistry student Sebastián R. Serey (@sebaserey) [es] said:

@sebaserey: Qué sentirá Bachelet al ver el descontento ciudadano q existe en Chile hoy en día? De verdad piensa que alguien le cree? #nosvemosel11

@sebaserey: What would Bachelet feel to see the discontent citizen that exists in Chile today? Does she truly think anyone believes her? #nosvemosel11

Others, like Lucas Alonso (@lucasxalonso) [es], ask themselves if the marches have any impact at all:

@lucasxalonso: Cuántas marchas faltan para que de verdad la clase política tome en serio al pueblo? #NosVemosEl11 #YoMarcho

@lucasxalonso: How many marches are needed for the political class to take the people seriously? #NosVemosEl11 #YoMarcho (#IMarch) [es]

Panama: Statements After the Chaos Unleashed by Law 72

Peter Jones — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 21:14:40 +0000

The impressions of Panamanians and foreigners living in the country were immediate after the chaos unleashed by the approval of Law 72. This law, without consultation, promoted the sale of land in the Colón Free Trade Zone, a source of income for the country and this province that practically lies in ruins after having gone unnoticed by the government. The protests against the law have left four dead and dozens injured and detained.

The blog Otramerica [es] describes the chaos that caused President Ricardo Martinelli to announce the he will appeal the law:

El Gobierno pierde el control de las calles de Panamá: Saqueos en Calidonia y en la Central, choques entre antimotines y manifestantes en la Plaza Cinco de Mayo, un colapso del centro de la capital de Panamá y el miedo a un desborde de la violencia social, han hecho que el Gobierno nacional cambie de posición por enésima vez en las últimas horas… Las imágenes no concuerdan con la ‘postal’ ideal que Martinelli trata de vender en cada uno de sus viajes al exterior y en sus populistas discursos en casa.

The government loses control of the streets of Panama City: ooting in Calidonia and in the Center, clashes between riot police and protesters in the Plaza Cinco de Mayo, a collapse in the center of the capital of Panama and the fear of an overflow in social violence, they have made the national government change its position for the umpteenth time in the last hours…The images are not in line with the ideal ‘postcard’ that Martinelli tries to sell on every one of his trips abroad and in his populist speeches at home.

While Erick Simpson Aguilera of the blog Pma507pty [es] says the following:

Balance de la Crisis en Colón: Tres vidas segadas; perdidas millonarias en los puertos de contenedores, zona libre, comercios, y turismo (puertos de cruceros); la buena imagen internacional del país que tanto nos ha costado construir, vulnerada por la exposición mediática en cadenas noticiosas internacionales que le han dado amplia cobertura a los disturbios en Colón, han sido el saldo de una crisis que pudo evitarse, si tuviéramos -que no es el caso- un gobierno responsable que vele por el bienestar nacional y mida sus actos con prudencia y altura de estadista.

Statement on the Crisis in Colón: three lives cut short; millions lost in the ports of containers, free trade zone, businesses, and tourism (cruise ports); the positive international image of the country that has cost us so much to build, violated by the media exposure in international news networks that have given widespread coverage to the disorder in Colón, have been the balance of a crisis that could have been avoided, if we we had -which is not the case- a responsible government that ensures the nation's wellbeing and measures its acts with caution and statesmen's height.

Erick also shared several videos [es] such as the following, which was produced by Abel Aronátegui:

Meanwhile, Lee from the blog Boquete Guide shares his impressions in the post “A black eye for Panama”:

What made the day bad was not the fact the people took to the streets, that happens here, too often. Taking to the streets is a way to get the government to listen to the people they are supposed to represent. The people of Panama are vocal when they feel the government is ignoring them. The bad part happened when the protests turning into looting and violence.

Several people have concentrated their analyses and reactions on President Martinelli's actions. Erasmo Elías Muñoz Marín from the blog Entre el Fuego y el Hielo [es] compares President Martinelli with the obscure character that inspired Bram Stoker to write the novel Dracula.

Martinelli un personaje de terror moderno: El Presidente es un vampiro moderno, que no absorbe sangre de la gente, sino dinero, vidas, tierras, y su sed de poder llega a tal punto que ha contaminado a sus secuaces para que actúen de forma tan irracional como la de él. Desde la crisis de Changuinola, pasando luego por el tema Ngbe Bugle, el conflicto minero y hoy día los recientes hechos por el interés de vender la Zona Libre de Colón, en dos años y medio ha logrado más muertes, y lisiados permanentes, por la represión estatal que todos sus predecesores juntos, bañando de sangre su gestión, llenando de rencor, luto y dolor a cientos de familias panameñas

Martinelli is a character of modern terror: The President is a modern-day vampire that does not absorb human blood but rather money, lives, land, and his net of power has reached the point that it has brainwashed his followers to act in a way as irrational as his. Since the crisis in Changuinola, later passing through the Ngobe Bugle region, the miner conflict and now the recent issue caused by the interest in selling the Colón Free Trade Zone, in two and a half years has achieved more deaths, and permanent injuries, by state repression than all of his predecessors combined, bathing his management in blood, filling hundreds of Panamanian families with rancor, mourning, and sorrow.

The blog Bananama Republic titles its post “Martinelli amateurism causes chaos and violence”:

It could very well be that the value of the CFZ land can be put at much better use for Panamanians, or for Colon, than by just collecting rent on it. If that is the case, Martinelli should have explained it, presented his plans, convinced everybody. But he never does, because all he and his goons want to do is steal.

Finally, on October 30th the blog Panama Guide reported that “the climate of anarchy is subsiding”:

It feels like the corner has been turned on the crisis this morning. Officers of the National Police have been scattering the “protesters” (criminals) who have been looting stores, breaking windows, and mugging people all over town. There was a brief focus of activity where it all started near the National Assembly building, with the police all clustered around the Assembly in a defensive perimeter. Once the looting started the police officers started to push back, and it's taken them a couple of hours to regain control.

The photo shown in this post is a screenshot from the video [es] produced by Abel Aronátegui