The Chilean student movement of 2011 and the educational logic behind its criticism to neoliberalism

Abstract

While several Latin American societies insist on searching for ways to implement neoliberal policies promoted by prominent International Financial Organizations, and while many of these societies point Chile as an example to follow, the Chilean Student Movement of 2011 has given us some counterpoints to consider. According to the evidence provided by specialized literature, the Chilean student movement of 2011 was the first massive criticism to neoliberalism in Chile since its introduction in the 1980s. However, in addition to the criticisms of neoliberalism, the students have pointed out the need to use a new logic to reorganize the university world. Which one? A logic where solidarity, common interest, and social justice are placed in a central position. Based on a methodology that included the review of the main primary and secondary sources, the article exposes the background that allows to know the critical aspects of this new logic advocated by the Chilean students. The paper is divided into five sections: firstly, some sociohistorical elements to understand the irruption of the movement are exposed, then its main phases and acknowledged milestones are described in depth, later its principal demands are studied and, finally, these demands are analyzed in order to infer the new logic advocated by the Student movement. This logic has been here provisionally named as "liberal".