(en) Chile, periodico-solidaridad #30 - The DATE beyond the
union demand by Melissa Sepulveda (ca) [machine translation]
The inclusion and graduate students on the electoral roll of the Date but were considered
in the quorum was intended as a mechanism to integrate those who, increasingly precarized
way still students at the University of Chile but lack of a number of benefits and rights,
including a cross-organization. Despite efforts such as the creation of the graduate
delegate in full, it has not been easy to make the federation. Moreover unionism made this
initiative perfect for demand in the Regional Electoral Tribunal (TER) was considered
valid by the right move in a relevant for the definition of educational reform in higher
education currently argument.
The Date far from a trade organization in its 100-year history has been a mainstay in the
articulation of the Popular Movement in Chile. He has been an active agent in the
struggles of the working class and in recent years has been instrumental in the process of
resetting the social fabric around the struggle for the right to education. However, we do
defense following the attack of unionism can not blind, it is necessary to critically
review the functioning of the federation and beyond the elections, analyze what is really
student participation in Date.
Our organization should be an effective tool, which promotes active participation and
avoid the bureaucracy and stagnation, something surely thought at the beginning of century
young medical students to give it a federal character. The Date must concretize in its
internal organizational logic operating glimpse society we want to build a constant
exercise and discussion, consensus and resolve disagreements that really engages the
students and. But far this spirit, we see some serious shortcomings within the Date; on
the one hand the existence of advisers fully without clear functions, which dissociate
their representation in the most critical moments and function more as a political bloc
that as guarantors of local reflections, similar to what we criticize both the national
parliament. Also dependent on the ministries and elected councilors with very low
participation without continuity from year to year. Moreover we can question the
interference of the board in decisions full what sense does the directive vote if barely
participate in their meetings? From 2006 onwards the role of spokespeople has been widely
questioned and because of that the character or the leader of the student movement has
also changed, though decision-making within the Date continues to operate under old
schemes of representation. Moreover it is urgent to provide us with a flexible structure
that allows to adapt to the times of mobilization as reordenarnos in times of reflux.
The question that remains in the air is changing the Date to promote their participation,
changing its presidential character, the tools it has to be useful even for the smallest
activity, not only of students but of all organizations of the masses. As in all political
action there are no magic recipes, however, beyond the embarrassment that ushered us
unionism, conducting a congress of statutes it is an urgent need for this commitment of
the political organizations of the left. Now it is no statute ink that will more
participatory the Date but the collective effort to transform its operation in practice.
And students are the ones who must make the federation more than a media player in dispute
but a fundamental bastion in this new stage of popular struggle.
http://www.periodico-solidaridad.cl/2015/09/12/la-fech-mas-alla-de-la-demanda-gremial/
