page_title: 2011–2013 Chilean student protests
section_title: August 2011 government proposal and subsequent protest
hierarchical_section_title: 2011–2013 Chilean student protests / August 2011 government proposal and subsequent protest
caption_attribution_description: English: An allegory of Uncle Sam represented by Sebastian Piñera, president of Chile, asking for student grants at street protests.
context_page_description: The 2011–2013 Chilean protests – known as the Chilean Winter or the Chilean Education Conflict – were a series of student-led protests across Chile, demanding a new framework for education in the country, including more direct state participation in secondary education and an end to the existence of profit in higher education. Currently in Chile, only 45% of high school students study in traditional public schools and most universities are also private. No new public universities have been built since the end of the Chilean transition to democracy in 1990, even though the number of university students has swelled.
  Beyond the specific demands regarding education, there is a feeling that the protests reflect a "deep discontent" among some parts of society with Chile's high level of inequality. Protests have included massive non-violent marches, but also a considerable amount of violence on the part of a side of protestors as well as riot police.
  The first clear government response to the protests was a proposal for a new education fund and a cabinet shuffle which replaced Minister of Education Joaquín Lavín and was seen as not fundamentally addressing student movement concerns.
context_section_description: On August 1, the government of Sebastian Piñera introduced a new 21-point proposal to reorganize Chilean education from pre-school to higher education and thus reach an agreement with the student movement. The proposal included many of the students' demands, such as:
  a constitutional guarantee to a quality education
  allowing student participation in university governance
  the end of local control over public secondary education
  increase university scholarships and provide help for people with unpayable student debt
  However, student leaders did not accept the proposal and signalled that the student mobilizations would continue with a national strike and march on August 4 and an official written response on August 5. In interviews, they noted that the proposal did not criminalize profiteering in education, did not seek to provide free or equitable access to higher education, and was not specific. Using the same language that was used to describe the July proposal, the August proposal was called "a backward step" and "a band-aid solution."
  The protests of August 4 were the most confrontational of the movement to date. 874 protestors were detained, and the center of Santiago was called a "state of siege" by University of Chile student federation president Camila Vallejo. Police cordoned off the streets and used tear gas. Protesters destroyed signs and set small fires in the street. Additionally, 90 carabineros (militarized police) were injured and a La Polar department store was burnt down. The evening saw a cacerolazo protest, where protesters bang pots and pans, often from their homes.
caption: An allegory of Uncle Sam represented by Sebastián Piñera, asking for student grants at street protests.
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