Resisting the Privatization of Education: Political Parties and Student Movements in Spain and Chile

The paper looks at the student movements that erupted first in Chile and then in Spain in 2011. It asks first, why these two student movements were at the forefront of protests against neoliberalism and privatization of education? Second, it asks why students did not mobilize against the privatization of education until 2011, despite decades of crushing student debt and economic deprivation? Third, it asks why the discourse of the student movements in both countries has been so anti-party, despite the fact that these countries traditionally had strong left wing party subcultures, and left wing militants led resistance efforts during the dictatorships? And finally it asks what the impact of this anti-party stance has been on the dynamic and outcome of the student movements. We argue that the Socialist governments that assumed power, either alone or in coalition, after the collapse of the authoritarian regimes made protest unpopular. As long as Socialists favored neoliberal economic models, student protests were sporadic and easily repressed. Only when the collapse of the world economy weakened the hegemony of neo-liberal ideas and simultaneously drove the Socialists from power, were student outreach efforts successful. Student distrust of political parties continued, however, even while nostalgia for historic left wing governments -- the Republic in Spain and the Popular Unity in Chile -- remained strong. The long-term consequence of this anti-party stance been that movements now find it harder to win concessions and parties find it harder to maintain citizen support.