“No to the Fake Reform!” Strategies and Outcomes of Student Protests on Chile's Higher Education Reform

Abstract

This article examines the strategies and outcomes of the Chilean student movement during the higher education reform of 2018. Following the waves of protest in 2011 and 2013, students successfully pressured the enactment of free education policy in 2016 and a new higher education law in 2018. However, why did activists persist in opposing the reform, in what ways did they oppose it, and what outcomes did they achieve? The study shows that students opposed the reform due to significant policy disagreements and omissions between government proposals and activist demands. It further details how students employed insider strategies to enhance their access and representation within policy-making processes. Nonetheless, these strategies did not yield improved outcomes; activists encountered political and institutional constraints that limited their impact on the reform. The article concludes by reflecting on how the movement's constrained impacts illustrate the resilience of neoliberal policies and the ongoing challenges in democratizing educational policy.