Date of Award

5-2014

Degree Type

Report

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Economics and Finance

Committee

Not specified

Abstract

On May 21, 2011, precisely when the president of Chile Sebastían Piñera was ready to address the Chilean parliament regarding legislative initiatives for the upcoming year, more than 20,000 students gathered outside the parliamentary building calling on the government to address problems within the education system. Diego Vela, president of FEUC, a prominent student organization, stated the following: “Since it is a year with presidential and parliamentary elections, it opens up the opportunity to influence the main platforms and look for structural changes” (I Love Chile). President Piñera’s speech, however, ignored student demands, and consequently students intensified their campaign by announcing new rallies and threatening an indefinite strike if government did not meet their demands. Students began overtaking schools and universities. Books were burned and school desks were used to barricade school entrances (Guzman-Concha 2013, 413-414).

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