Camila Vallejo in English

Chilean minister presents university funding plan to president; Camila Vallejo not impressed

Via The Santiago Times: Chilean minister presents university funding plan to president. Excerpt:

The state, not banks, are to fund higher education scholarships through the creation of a new specialized government agency, Chile’s education minister, Harald Beyer, announced in a press conference at La Moneda on Monday. 

“In practical terms, this means that the funds originate from the state and banks cease to fund higher education,” Beyer said. 

This proposal fulfils one of the biggest requests of Chile’s student movement, which last year saw massive demonstrations with thousands demanding free quality education. 

The education minister met with President Sebastián Piñera in the presidential palace to present a package of reforms, which includes the exclusion of banks from the scholarship system in exchange for a single system of state-provided credit; changes in the requirements for scholarship access for poor students; and a new means of financing the gap between actual and reference tariffs, which are projected figures for the cost of a degree, as well as a better system of calculating reference tariffs. 

“We want a more just system with no discrimination and more equality that integrates scholarships and loans for all students of higher education,” Beyer said. 

Under the old system, banks facilitated the access of the middle classes to private universities through the Crédito con Aval del Estado (CAE), a program of state-guaranteed credit, established in 2007. The loans came with an interest rate of almost 6 percent, three times what some public universities charge their students through their internal loan systems. 

This situation resulted in students graduating from university with large amounts of debt. Estimates place the number of students currently in debt through this system at 350,000. These students supposedly accrue an average of $100,000 USD each by the end of their studies. 

The new credit system will be administered by the government and have a single interest rate of 2 percent a year. This will be the case for nine out of 10 students from both private and public institutions, excluding only the richest 10 percent.

It remains to be seen what Camilo Vallejo and other student leaders will say about this proposal.

Update: She tweeted: Se está sacando a la banca privada, pero el lucro todavía está presente en el sistema. "They're getting out of the private banks, but profit is still in the system."

Chile's student protests: Progress and its discontents

Via The Economist: Chile's student protests: Progress and its discontents. This is a 9-minute audio interview in English. The description:

As Chile's economy continues to grow, its citizens are demanding a fairer society. Our correspondents discuss the recent student protests and ask what the government can do to ease the unrest.

The most entertaining part of the interview is the anxiety expressed at the protests and problems in such a successful, "market-friendly" country. President Piñera is dismissed as "politically inept," and the role of the Young Communists in leading the student protests gets no mention.

Camila Vallejo: The New York Times takes note

Via The New York Times: Camila Vallejo, the World’s Most Glamorous Revolutionary. Excerpt from a long article:

The hotel had a musty, Pinochet-era atmosphere — dark bar, heavy furniture, bartenders in white shirts and black ties — and drew mostly businessmen. But when the bartenders found out that my friends and I were going to the student march, they cut lemons for us and put them into plastic bags with salt. In case of tear gas, you were supposed to bite into the lemons to lessen the effect. 

With guarded smiles, they let us know they supported the Chilean student movement and especially its most prominent leader, Camila Vallejo. A bartender said, “La Camila es valiente”; he laughed and added, “Está bien buena la mina” — “She’s hot.” 

Camila Vallejo, the 23-year-old president of the University of Chile student federation (FECH), a Botticelli beauty who wears a silver nose ring and studies geography, was the most prominent leader of a student protest movement that had paralyzed the country and shattered Chile’s image as Latin America’s greatest political and economic success story. The march that Thursday afternoon in November would be the 42nd since June. 

In what became known as the Chilean Winter, students at university campuses and high schools across the country organized strikes, boycotted classes and occupied buildings. The protests were the largest since the last days of the 17-year dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who in a 1973 military coup overthrew Latin America’s first democratically elected Marxist president, Salvador Allende. 

The students’ grievances echoed, somewhat, those of their counterparts across the Mideast or in Zuccotti Park. Chile might have the highest per capita income in the region, but in terms of distribution of wealth, it ranks as one of the most unequal countries in the world. 

A university education in Chile is proportionally the world’s most expensive: $3,400 a year in a country where the average annual salary is about $8,500. 

Sebastián Piñera’s right-wing government was plunged into perpetual crisis. The Harvard-educated Piñera, founder of Chile’s major credit card, Bancard, and Chile’s first president since Pinochet to come from the right, promised to govern Chile and its economy in a new way — as a businessman whose billions didn’t come from mining or manufacturing but from investments. 

The student movement exposed the Piñera Way as business as usual — if public education was virtually abolished under Pinochet in the ’80s, his successors had done nothing to bring it back.

Camila Vallejo: My reasons for going to Cuba

Via the website of Juventudes Comunistas de Chile: Mis razones para viajar a Cuba (o un llamado a no ser más papista que el Papa), por Camila Vallejo. [My reasons for traveling to Cuba (or, a call not to be more Catholic than the Pope), by Camila Vallejo. This is a rough translation of the opening paragraphs, without her original text. I'll try to complete the translation in a day or two.

The Union of Young Communists has invited a delegation of the Young Communists of Chile to the activities commemorating its 50th anniversary. I'm part of this delegation and I hope to take advantage of the trip to also carry out exchanges and dialogues with the students of a country known for its high standards of free public education. 

I will have the opportunity to meet with student leaders in the Continental Latin Americans and Caribbean Students' Organization and our sister organization the University Students' Federation. I also plan to visit different university campuses where they are organizing forums and debates where we can exchange experiences about the Chilean and Cuban student movements.

Nevertheless, I begin to see some acid criticism in the national debate about my accepting this invitation. The same sectors that didn't criticize the Pope for his journey to the island, his meeting with Fidel, and his declining to meet with dissidents, are tearing their clothes over the visit we young Communists are making. 

For this reason I want to share my reflections over the paradox in the arguments of those who so rabidly criticize Cuba or who feel tenderness and respect for her, but who excuse unacceptable practices and inequalities that happen daily in our country and around the world due to wars, hunger, exploitation, the violation of human rights, and the endless consequences of the dehumanization produced by the capitalist system and the determined agents of US imperialism.

First, this isn't the first time I've visited Cuba. I travelled with some friends in the summer of 2008 to learn about the island in the context of the 50th anniversary of the popular revolution that overthrew the cruel dictatorship of Batista. Thanks to contact with Chilean friends (who study on Cuban government scholarships, side by side with young people from all over the continent who probably couldn't have gained a good education at home in elite schools whose costs deprive the people of what should be their right), we could get out of the tourist circuit and soak ourselves in the daily Cuban culture, which constantly surprised us with the cultural, political and social particularities that make it so hard to compare this country with our own.

Camila Vallejo: Democratizing the Chilean university

Via CubaSi.cu, a Prensa Latina article: Defiende Camila Vallejo lucha por democratizar universidad chilena. [Camila Vallejo defends struggle to democratize the Chilean university] Vallejo is on a visit to Cuba. Excerpt, with my translation:

La vicepresidenta de la Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de Chile (FECH), Camila Vallejo, defendió hoy en esta capital las luchas en su país por implementar una educación superior inclusiva y al servicio del desarrollo social.   

Camila Vallejo, vice-president of the Student Federation of the University of Chile, today defended in Havana the struggles in her country to implement an inclusive higher education in the service of social development.

De visita en Cuba a propósito de las celebraciones por el aniversario 50 de la Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas (UJC), la dirigente consideró necesario dejar atrás el modelo educativo neoliberal de Chile, al que calificó de subordinado a intereses políticos y empresariales. 

Visiting Cuba for the 50th anniversary of the Union of Young Communists, the student leader said it is necessary to abandon the neoliberal Chilean education model, which she described as subordinate to political and business interests.

En un encuentro con el secretariado de la Federación Estudiantil Universitaria de Cuba -su primera actividad en la isla después de arribar la víspera- Vallejo explicó que el objetivo de las movilizaciones en la nación suramericana pasa por construir una alternativa democrática en el sector. 

In a meeting with the secretariat of the Cuban University Student Federation—her first activity after arriving the night before—Vallejo explained that the goal of the demonstrations in Chile is to create a democratic alternative education.

La educación privada suele caracterizarse por la persecución política, los obstáculos para que jóvenes y académicos se organicen, así como en ocasiones la mala calidad y el vínculo con proyectos ideológicos, lo cual hace que sea una educación pensada para reproducir el modelo imperante, dijo. 

Private education, she said, is usually characterized by political persecution, obstacles that young people and academics organize against, as well as poor quality and links to ideological projects. This makes it an education designed to reproduce the current model.

Según la también dirigente de las Juventudes Comunistas de Chile, durante el gobierno de la Unidad Popular (1970-1973), encabezado por Salvador Allende, se dieron pasos luego revertidos por la dictadura de Augusto Pinochet, que lo derrocó en un sangriento golpe de Estado en septiembre de 1973. 

Vallejo, also a leader of the Young Communists of Chile, said that during the Popular Unity government (1970-83) led by Salvador Allende, steps were taken but then reversed under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who overthrew Allende in a bloody coup in September 1973.

Vallejo junto a miles de jóvenes chilenos han protagonizado en los últimos meses protestas encaminadas a lograr una universidad pública, gratuita y con calidad en la enseñanza. 

Vallejo and thousands of Chilean young people have taken part in protests intended to achieve a public, free university with quality teaching.

Se trata, además, de concebir una educación sin que prime el principio de la rentabilidad, y con mayor énfasis en sectores -como el humanismo y las ciencias- relacionados con un proyecto de país, apuntó aquí la vicepresidenta de la FECH.

The vice-president of Fech said they are also seeking an education without the principle of profit, and with more emphasis on fields such as humanism and the sciences, related to a national project.

More on Camila Vallejo's trip to Cuba

Via The Santiago Times: Chilean communist rock star, Camila Vallejo, bound for Cuba. Excerpt:

Outspoken communist student leader Camila Vallejo will visit Havana, Cuba, to assist in the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Communist Youth League (JJCC) set to take place on April 4, according to La Tercera. 

Vallejo, who serves as the vice president of Universidad de Chile Student Federation (Fech), is a member of Chile’s communist party (PC) and has received a lot of international support for her work as a student leader. 

Last month Cuban President Fidel Castro voiced his support for Vallejo. 

“We should get behind the ideas of the young Chilean woman, Camila Vallejo, and fight so that education reaches everybody,” Castro said. 

JJCC Secretary General Karol Cariola and Luis Lobos will accompany Vallejo, who will head six presentations with different Universidad de La Habana faculties. There she will discuss Chile’s political situation, last year’s student movement, and how to strengthen the Chile’s social movement. 

Vallejo will also hold meetings with members of the Continental Latin American Organization of Students (Oclae), the University Student Federation of Cuba (FEU), and Chilean students studying medicine in Cuba. 

Her travel to Cuba is in line with a series of activities at a national and international level that has been her responsibility since she returned to the political scene at the beginning of March. 

The geography student has a diverse calendar of events that her front line Fech commitments have taken a back seat.

Camila Vallejo to visit Cuba in April

Via Publimetro: Camila Vallejo viaja a Cuba como "invitada de Honor" para hablar sobre educación. [Camila Vallejo will travel to Cuba as "guest of honour" to speak about education] Excerpt, with my translation:

Durante esta mañana la vicepresidente de la Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de Chile (FECH), Camila Vallejo, anunció que viajará a Cuba, donde expondrá sobre el movimiento estudiantil en el marco del aniversario 50º de las Juventudes Comunistas de la Isla. 

This morning the vice-president of FECH, Camila Vallejo, announced that she will travel to Cuba, where she will talk about the student movement on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Young Communists on the island.

En el encuentro, que comenzará este 4 de abril y se extenderá por cuatro días, la dirigenta estudiantil es una de las “invitadas de honor”, según informa La Tercera. 

In the meeting, which will begin on April 4 and will last for four days, the student leader is one of the "guests of honour," according to La Tercera.

Hasta el momento, Vellejo no tiene agendada ninguna actividad o encuentro con las autoridades del país. Aunque, según fuentes cercanas a la líder estudiantil, se espera que en el encuentro aborde el contenido de su libre “Podemos cambiar el mundo”.

At the moment Vallejo has no activity or meeting planned with Cuban authorities. However, sources close to the student leader say it's hoped the meeting will address the content of her book We Can Change the World.

Camila Vallejo in Argentina

Via Página 12, where it appeared on Saturday, March 24: Camila Vallejo: "Tenemos que aprender mucho de Argentina". [Camila Vallejo: "We have much to learn from Argentina'] Excerpt, with my translation:

El rostro más conocido de la luchas estudiantiles chilenas y vicepresidenta de la Federación Universitaria de ese país participó de las actividades en conmemoración por el Día de la Memoria junto con los docentes porteños "y junto con el pueblo argentino". 

The best-known face of the Chilean student struggles and vice-president of that country's University Federation took part in the activities commemorating the Day of Memory together with Buenos Aires teachers "and with the Argentine people."

Criticó "la impunidad que aún hay en Chile" sobre los responsables de los crímenes cometidos durante el régimen de Augusto Pinochet y sentenció que en su país, "lamentablemente, quienes nos gobiernan son cómplices de la tortura, de la dictadura, de la represión, de la transgresión a los derechos humanos básicos y fundamentales". 

She condemned "the impunity that still persists in Chile" for those responsible for the crimes committed during the Augusto Pinochet regime, and said that in her country, "Regrettably, those who govern us are accomplices to torture, to dictatorship, to repression, to transgressions against basic and fundamental human rights."

La dirigente estudiantil, al presentarse hoy en la carpa blanca que ubicaron los docentes porteños de UTE-Ctera junto al Cabildo, consideró que "hay que hacer un gran abrazo en Latinoamérica y en el mundo para ir a un futuro distinto y mejor, que esté pensado para las grandes mayorías". 

The student leader, appearing today in the white tent of the Buenos Aires teachers at UTE-Ctera next to the Cabildo, observed that "We have to give a huge embrace to Latin America and the world to seek a distinct and better future, one that the great majorities think of."

Dijo que al llegar al país se encontró "con el gran abrazo de muchos compañeros, amigos y amigas, trabajadores, estudiantes, con un acto de solidaridad, de hermandad, de empatía, de entender que las luchas son luchas comunes, causas comunes" y, en ese sentido, sostuvo que "hay que fortalecer esos lazos" entre las agrupaciones de ambos países. 

She said that on arriving in the country she encountered "the big embrace of many comrades, friends, workers, students, with an act of solidarity, of brotherhood, of empathy, of understanding that our struggles are struggles in common," and in this sense, she insisted, "We have to strengthen these ties" between groups in both countries.

"Los pueblos no tienen fronteras y hay que hacer un gran abrazo en Latinoamérica y en el mundo para poder darnos las fuerzas suficientes, la convicción de ir a la conquista de un mundo distinto, de una sociedad libre y mundial, mejor, que esté pensada para el beneficio de las grandes mayorías", argumentó.

"The people don't have borders. We have to embrace one another in Latin America and in the world to give ourselves enough strength and conviction to embark on the conquest of a different world, of a free world society, a better one, that is for the benefit of the great majorities," she argued.

Camila Vallejo: "With a stomach ache, I voted for Frei"

Via Publimetro: Camila Vallejo: "Con dolor de estómago voté por Frei". [Camila Vallejo: "With a stomach ache, I voted for Frei"] Excerpt, with my translation:

La vicepresidenta de la FECH, Camila Vallejo, afirmó este domingo que el movimiento estudiantil insistirá en que la educación sea gratuita para todos y que, en ese sentido, serán consecuentes con esa idea y que ello "no es una política regresiva" . 

The vice-president of FECH, Camila Vallejo, said this Sunday that the student movement will insist that education be free for everyone and that consequences will flow from this idea that "will not be a regressive politics."

La dirigenta, líder del movimiento estudiantil en 2011, formuló declaraciones en la 'Entrevista del Domingo', que conduce el periodista Mauricio Bustamante, en TVN. 

The leader of the 2011 student movement made her statements on the "Sunday Interview" program hosted by journalist Mauricio Bustamante on TVN.

Consultada sobre que el ministro de Educación, Harald Beyer y el Gobierno, han dicho que la enseñanza gratuita también 'es injusta', Vallejo sostuvo que para que no sea injusto, "para que eso no pase eso, los ricos tienen que tributar, pagar impuestos. Lo que pasa hoy es que una familia rica paga 500 mil pesos al mes (por educación) pero eso le significa menos costo que pagar realmente impuesto" . 

Asked about how Education Minister Harald Beyer and the government have said that free instruction is "also unjust," Vallejo argued that to keep it from being unjust, "so this wouldn't happen, the rich would have to pay taxes. What happens today is that a rich family pays 500,000 pesos a month (for education) but this is less than the cost of paying real taxes.

"Entonces ahí hay un tema regresivo, que es lo que pasa actualmente. Si la educación fuese gratuita y acompañada de una reforma tributaria sería mucho más progresivo. Nos permitiría la educación gratuita encontrarnos todos en un mismo espacio, entender que la educación no es una cosa por la cual uno tenga que pagar. No es un servicio, es un derecho, y eso además cambia culturalmente la conciencia de la gente, da un mayor grado de responsabilidad para con el país, porque la sociedad en su conjunto, a través del Estado, está invirtiendo en ti para que tú seas un profesional a disposición del desarrollo social" , explicó la joven. 

"So what's really regressive is what's going on right now. If education were free and accompanied by tax reform, it would be much more progressive. It would permit us free education to find ourselves all in the same space, understanding that education isn't something you have to pay for. It's not a service, it's a right, and as well this culturally changes people's awareness, it creates a greater level of responsibility to the country, because society, through the state, is investing in you so you can become a professional in the service of social development," the young woman explained.

Vallejo agregó que los problemas sociales que existen "obedecen a un modelo, hay responsabilidades compartidas, hay que superar esta disputa de la derecha y de la Concertación que se están tirando la pelota todo el tiempo, y eso no demuestra la voluntad de dar soluciones; no se está escuchando a la ciudadanía, lo que está demandando la gran mayoría de la población, lo que está planteando Aysén acerca de la descentralización, de combatir la desigualdad, de conciliar que todos somos chilenos y chilenas, que tenemos que vernos beneficiados del crecimiento económico que tiene nuestro país y no un determinado o reducido grupo de familias o empresas" , expresó Vallejo.

Vallejo added that existing social problems "obey a model, with shared responsibilities. We have to overcome this dispute with the right and the Concertation, who are raising false issues. This doesn't show the will to find solutions; they're not listening to the citizens, to what the great majority of the people are demanding, what Aysén is raising about decentralization, combating inequality, recognizing that we're all Chileans, that we all have to see a benefit from our country's economic growth, not just a fixed number of families or businesses."

Massive student tuition march paralyzes Montreal

Is Canada about to follow Chile? Via CBC News: Massive student tuition march paralyzes Montreal. Excerpt:

Tens of thousands of students in Quebec descended on downtown Montreal Thursday afternoon for the latest in a series of escalating protests against proposed tuition hikes. 

An imposing crowd, considerably larger than the one at Montreal's famous 1995 pre-referendum rally, formed a kilometres-long sea of opposition to Quebec's tuition increases, scheduled to take effect later this year.

In a spring laden with student demonstrations against the Quebec government, this was easily the largest. 

The parade of protest was so long that its front end would be a full neighbourhood – or even two – away from the tail end. An organizing group boasted that the protest spanned 50 city blocks. 

There were no immediate incidents involving the chanting, placard-waving throng. There were, however, reports of some protesters carrying sticks, that police confiscated. 

And there was a threat from a major protest group: "If the government doesn't announce a retreat on the [tuition] hike today the next step will involve actions that disrupt the economy," the C.L.A.S.S.E. student group posted on its Twitter page.