Chilean and Colombian students unite for continent-wide student protest

SANTIAGO — Following months of talks over social networks and a meeting last Saturday, Nov. 12, the Chilean and Colombian student

A young protester in Valparaíso holds a sign declaring, "Everyone for a free education." Photo: Mauricio Cancino Moreno

movements have decided to unite in a continent-wide student protest for Nov. 24.

Patricio Contreras, a spokesperson for CONFECH, the Confederation of Chilean Students, said “the movements of different Latin American countries should not be isolated. We need to generate solidarity between fellow students.”

Jairo Rivera, spokesperson for Colombia’s student movement, Mesa Amplia Nacional Estudiantil, stated the protest would be “in defense of education as a right.”

The protest, entitled “Day of continental protest for the defense of education,“  is gathering support on Facebook, aiming to involve students in every Latin American country.

The proposition to join forces came from Colombian students as they entered their fifth week of protests against an education reform proposal which they feared would privatize higher education. Although the government has said it has effectively withdrawn the proposed reform, students are waiting for its official withdrawal, which can only take place after a congressional vote.

Meanwhile, Chilean students are now into their sixth month of strike, insisting that Piñera’s offer in October of increasing funds for education in the 2012 budget is still not enough.  It is hoped that promoting the movement abroad, in Europe as well as Latin America, will reinvigorate it.

Student group CONFECH will meet this Saturday, Nov. 19 to decide whether to question political parties about the education budget, which is currently under discussion in Congress. Students in Argentina and Peru, who have announced their support, will be meeting to discuss their demands ahead of the protest.