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Students protest against structural adjustment (student activism):

I have chosen this topic on student protest against structural adjustment in Argentina because students have fought to stop the privatisation of public universities and the increased tuition in the 1980s. This is significant because it showed that the students cared about their education and therefore were willing to protest against it to stop it from happening; protecting their education and growth. Finally, I have chosen this topic for the recent rise in student protests over the last decade due to the neglect from politicians.

Topic Paragraph:

For the article I want to discuss:


 * The beginning of the student protests for university reforms in Argentina (1918)


 * Structural adjustment and why students protested against it
 * To discuss the structural adjustment in the 70s and 80s under the dictatorship and the impacts (the dirty war)


 * Discuss protests in recent years because the education has been "neglected" by politicians.

Annotated Bibliography:

Horacio, T. (2018). The Argentine May. Available: https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/3935-the-argentine-may. Last accessed 05/11/2021.


 * This source is arguing that the militant control over the universities in 1968 pushed the students towards an anti-dictatorial which led to a series of protests. The students were supressed by violence from the governments in each protest.
 * The main topic covered by the article is the protests that took place in "Argentine May"
 * This article seems reliable, as it has references throughout to show where the material was taken from.

Ray, D. (SEPT. 16, 2010). Students protest education in Argentine capital. Available: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-students-protest-education-in-argentine-capital-2010sep16-story.html. Last accessed 05/11/2021.


 * I chose this article because it discussed the student protests in recent years (2010) and it has common features of protests that took place in the 60s through 80s. Students were protesting because they felt like their education was being "neglected" by the politicians.
 * The main idea of the article was for the students to be seen as empowering because they took to the presidential palace to protest and fighting for their education.
 * The issue with this article is that it has no references for any of the comments, except for pictures of the students.

Milanesio, Natalia. “Gender and Generation: The University Reform Movement in Argentina, 1918.” Journal of Social History, vol. 39, no. 2, Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 505–29, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3790780.


 * This journal article argues the beginning of student protest against university reforms. This took place in 1918 when students accused their professors of being authoritarian. This led to strikes, rallies, petitions and the seizure of the UNC.
 * The main argument this journal shows is the rebellion for those who has unequal distribution of rights and duties.

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2020, May 11). Dirty War. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Dirty-War


 * I chose this article because it follows the "Argentine May" article in which the country is controlled by a dictatorship to supress the voices of students and protests throughout the late 70s and early 80s.
 * The argument in this article is that the militant government were killing political opponents, such as left-wing. Over the course of the dictatorship, between 10,000 to 30,000 people disappeared or were killed. Students were apart of these protests, even some students being killed.

Julius Gavroche. (April 3, 2018). The long and winding May of 1968 (7): Argentina’s Uprising. Available: https://autonomies.org/2018/04/the-long-and-winding-may-of-1968-argentinas-uprising/. Last accessed 05/11/2021.


 * I chose this article because it relates to the "Argentine May" website which pushed students towards protesting against the university neglect.
 * The topic on students summaries that universities were controlled by the government, and classes were suspended for a year giving students incentive to protest.

Students protest against structural adjustment (student activism) in Argentina:

Introduction:

Structural adjustment is a set of economic reforms that a country must adhere to secure a loan from the IMF or the world bank (Halton, C). An example of structural adjustment programs is the privatisation of industries, for the case, education sector, which would bring more money in the sector, but at the cost of the quality of education. There have been student protests dating back to 1917, where The University of Cordoba refused to concede to student demands for boarding houses for medical students, leading to students holding a demonstration and not attending classes (Mederios, S, 2012). More recently there have been reforms to privatise public education has had undermining effects on equity and quality of education (About education international, 2018). This has led to protests from students, leading to schools to be occupied by students (occupied schools) (Míguez, D. and Hernández, A, 2018) due to President Mauricio Macri’s education reforms.

Why countries try to introduce structural adjustment:

Countries try to introduce structural adjustment programmes into industries such as water, and for this case education because they need to secure a loan from the IMF or World Bank as the country is going into debt. This leads to the industries being purchased and taken off government hands. For the example of Argentina, structural adjustment programs have been put in place due to the debt is in to the IMR and World Bank and therefore the privatisation of industries will inevitably happen.

Student protests 1918:

Student protests in Argentina date back to 1917 where demonstrations were held at the University of Cordoba, due to the university refused the student demands to build boarding houses for medical students. This caused student protests to take place at the end of March in 1918, when again the University refused. This led to the refusal to attend school, hosting a demonstration, and even contacting local politicians and organisations to help take part (Mederios, S, 2012). Following this, the protests were also to modernize the traditional, elite-dominated Argentine University, by bringing in more modern curriculum for the current day issues in 1918 and making its door more open for middle and lower classes (Encyclopaedia, 2021). Moreover, the University of Cordoba was conservative, and the youth taking part in the protest seemed to be anticonservative, calling for social reform. This led to worker/student strikes, which caused the University to criticise the capitalist economic system and offered support workers (Walter, J, 1969). Although, these protests aren’t due to structural adjustment, it shows the willingness of students to protest universities to accommodate for the changing curriculum and the allowance of middle- and lower-class students.

Student protests in last decade:

More recently there have been more student protests educational reforms, and the privatisation of the educational sector. This has led to protests where students are “occupying schools” due to President Mauricio Marcri’s reforms (Míguez, D. and Hernández, A, 2018). Since late August students have occupied around thirty high schools in Buenos Aires, trying to engage with the government over the reforms. Theses protests are happening because the reform was formulated without the consent of teachers, students, and teachers, therefore making changes without seeing if it would cause protests (Matienzo, E). For example, there have been proposed changes at the National school of Buenos Aires, that have caused student protest. This is because one part of the reform mentioned that if a “student was to fall behind would be expelled from the class”, leading to potentially 10% of the student body expelled (Cue, C, 2015). These students are arguing against the privatisation of the education system, as mentioned in the article “the true basis for the reform is to introduce a privatisation system that will do away with education” showing that the students believe that the education is better when it is free and therefore more accessible for more people across the country, as some people will therefore not be able to afford education if it becomes privatised.

Conclusion:

In conclusion student protests have taken place against structural adjustment due to the effects it will have on their education. This is because the industry might become privatised and therefore students will have to pay to get into public schools, whereas before education would have been free. This has happened because of the debt Argentina is in to both the IMF and World Bank, therefore has to put structural adjustment programmes in place. This had led to educational reforms, and for example in Buenos Aires, students were taking over schools and being labelled "occupied schools", to show their protest against these reforms. This was happening in some of Argentina's most prestigious schools, e.g., National School of Buenos Aires, which shows that the reforms do not just target the middle and lower classes.

Bibliography:

About education international. (2018). Argentina: private interests are critically undermining public education. Available: https://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/22615:argentina-private-interests-are-critically-undermining-public-education.

CARLOS E. CUÉ. (2015). Argentina’s most prestigious high school puts up a fight against reforms. Available: https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/04/27/inenglish/1430135772_348118.html.

Encyclopaedia. (2021). Argentina, University Reform. Available: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/argentina-university-reform.

Míguez, D. and Hernández, A. (2018) ‘Civic education as social process: A case study of students’ protests in Córdoba, Argentina, 2010’, Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 13(2), pp. 144–162. doi: 10.1177/1746197917731275.

Matienzo, E. (2017). Argentine Students Protest Against Education Reform. Available: https://www.coha.org/argentine-students-protest-against-education-reform/

Susana Medeiros. (2012). Argentinian students force university reforms, 1918. Available: https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/argentinian-students-force-university-reforms-1918

Walter, R. J. (1969). The Intellectual Background of the 1918 University Reform in Argentina. The Hispanic American Historical Review, 49(2), 233–253. https://doi.org/10.2307/2510819