It’s being called the Chilean Winter: a protest movement not unlike recent events in the Middle East commonly referred to as the Arab Spring. Protesters have united to call on the government for better and more affordable education. The uprising recently led to a two-day nationwide shutdown, in which many public service employees joined the students in protest.
At the centre of the movement is Camila Vallejo, a 23-year-old student and activist. Her leadership has led the government to agree to substantially lower interest rates on student loans and invest over a trillion pesos ($2 billion dollars) into education.
The demonstrations she has organized have drawn hundreds of thousands of supporters. While a few demonstrations have turned violent, Vallejo is clear on their intent: “We don’t want violence, our fight is not versus the police or to destroy commercial shops … our fight is to recover the right to education.”
Vallejo is now receiving police protection, having recently received death threats. One of these came from a government official who was subsequently fired. Despite these threats, her fight has the support of 80 percent of her fellow citizens, according to a recent survey.
For more information on Camila and the uprising in Chile, please consult this article in the British paper The Guardian or this article in the French newspaper Le Monde.
Finally, a sincere word of thanks to our Union’s newest Chilean friend, Marcelo Moisan, who graciously allowed us to use the above picture for this article. Take a moment to visit Marcelo’s Flickr site, leave a comment or a thank you on his picture or add him as a Flickr contact: he has many great photos!