Date of Award
2008
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. Latin American Studies Program
Advisor(s)
Ben W. Fallaw
Second Advisor
Patrice Franko
Third Advisor
Ariel Armony
Abstract
Through exploration and analysis of economic, historical and political factors stemming from the authoritarian period (1973-1990) to the present day, this project offers an interdisciplinary explanation of the emergence of the "Penguin's Revolution" in Chile. In May-June 2006, 700,000 high school students paralyzed the Chilean education system by protesting in the streets, taking over schools and not attending classes. Students organized under the Coordinating Assembly of Secondary Students (ACES) demanded that the government take responsibility for providing universal high quality and equal education. The roots of student discontent lie in the multi-dimensional education crisis, generated by the semi-privatized, decentralized educational system created by Augusto Pinochet in 1980 and the failure of subsequent democratic administrations to alter the model. A breakdown of the government's response to the student movement will also be presented along with implications for the future.
Keywords
social protest, student activism, authoritarianism, socioeconomic inequality
Recommended Citation
Hall, Abigail, "The Penguins' Revolution: An Analysis of Student Response to the Multi-Dimensional Chilean Educational Crisis" (2008). Honors Theses. Paper 666.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/666
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