Chilean Educational Liberalism and the Possibility to Overthrow it in the New Constitution: Is it Possible?

Abstract

Chile faces writing a new constitution that will fully replace the 1980 Constitution created during the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990). The 1980 Constitution was built upon a neoliberal model from which the school education system has been shaped. This article presents elements about how the 1980 Constitution was constructed, its historical context, and its main influences. The article also exposes the main constitutional features that impacted the educational system and how those features translated into institutions between 1980 and 2021. The article ends with a reflection on the possibility of the collapse of the neoliberal architecture of the Chilean school education system regarding the drafting of a new constitution in the country.