Teachers' Strikes in 2015 and 2019 and the Debate Surrounding the Education System in Chile

Abstract:This paper is a comparative exercise about the points of contention between successive Chilean governments and teachers' unions during the last two teachers' strikes which took place in 2015 and 2019. It aims to show the developments in the debate educational issues.In recent years, dissatisfaction with the state of the education system has increased and teachers have organized different strikes in order to voice their complaints and demands. It has resulted in a conflictive relationship between successive governments and teachers with different protest events, negotiations and agreements influencing Chilean teacher polices.Since the 1980s, the Chilean education system has undergone a process of privatization. This has changed the relationships within the education system, between its actors and within the society as a whole. Teachers have been particularly adversely affected during this process, due to their loss of bargaining and earning power, as well as social status. Nevertheless, they have maintained strong unions which have participated in the debates surrounding education.