1 00:00:02,340 --> 00:00:05,090 Greetings Troublemakers. Welcome to Trouble.... 2 00:00:05,090 --> 00:00:06,890 my name is not important. 3 00:00:06,890 --> 00:00:09,450 This year marks the 50th anniversary 4 00:00:09,450 --> 00:00:12,160 of the tumultuous events of 1968, 5 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,440 when an unprecedented wave of revolt 6 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:16,450 broke out in multiple countries around the world, 7 00:00:16,450 --> 00:00:17,900 sending a collective shiver 8 00:00:17,900 --> 00:00:19,540 down the spines of the ruling class. 9 00:00:19,540 --> 00:00:21,120 This was arguably the closest 10 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:24,060 that humanity has ever come to a global revolution, 11 00:00:24,060 --> 00:00:26,030 and the reverberations of this shock 12 00:00:26,030 --> 00:00:27,900 lasted well into the next decade, 13 00:00:27,900 --> 00:00:29,290 as capitalists scrambled 14 00:00:29,290 --> 00:00:31,190 to restructure the international economy 15 00:00:31,190 --> 00:00:33,460 and states passed a series of reforms 16 00:00:33,460 --> 00:00:36,040 aimed at desperately reasserting their legitimacy. 17 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:38,170 While there were many different local factors 18 00:00:38,170 --> 00:00:41,760 and a wide cross-section of participants to the riots of '68, 19 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,020 a recurring theme was the leading role 20 00:00:44,020 --> 00:00:46,210 played by a generation of insurgent youth, 21 00:00:46,210 --> 00:00:48,070 fed up with the alienation and misery 22 00:00:48,070 --> 00:00:50,220 of everyday life under capitalism. 23 00:00:50,220 --> 00:00:53,680 Some of the most iconic scenes of '68 played out in Paris, 24 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:55,920 where tens of thousands of university 25 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,170 and high-school students took to the streets, 26 00:00:58,170 --> 00:00:59,570 erected barricades 27 00:00:59,570 --> 00:01:01,840 and fought pitched street battles with the cops. 28 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:03,240 Inspired by the bravery 29 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:05,680 and uncompromising militancy of these youth, 30 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:07,350 millions of workers joined the fray, 31 00:01:07,350 --> 00:01:10,040 launching the biggest wildcat strike in history, 32 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,840 and nearly toppling the French state in the process. 33 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:14,490 Students also played a key role 34 00:01:14,490 --> 00:01:16,180 in kicking-off protests that year in 35 00:01:16,180 --> 00:01:18,800 Italy, Spain, West Germany, 36 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,000 Sweden, Poland, Yugoslavia, Mexico, 37 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,530 Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, 38 00:01:24,530 --> 00:01:26,720 Jamaica, and the United States. 39 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:27,520 Five years later, 40 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,600 students at the Athens Polytechnic played a decisive role 41 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,240 in toppling the fascist military junta in Greece. 42 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,330 Sadly, the revolutionary upsurge of the 60's and 70's 43 00:01:36,330 --> 00:01:37,680 was ultimately put down, 44 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,400 and is now confined to the annals of history. 45 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:42,880 But student unrest has persisted, 46 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:44,970 and today it continues to play a key role 47 00:01:44,970 --> 00:01:46,680 in fomenting political crises 48 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:48,440 and articulating broader critiques 49 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:50,070 of capitalism and the state. 50 00:01:50,070 --> 00:01:51,560 Over the next thirty minutes, 51 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,640 we'll explore contemporary student struggles 52 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,440 from so-called Puerto Rico, Montreal and Chile, 53 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:58,920 and speak with current and former student organizers 54 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:00,480 as they share their experiences 55 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:02,980 of launching strikes, occupying buildings, 56 00:02:02,980 --> 00:02:04,190 taking to the streets 57 00:02:04,190 --> 00:02:05,720 and making a whole lot of trouble. 58 00:02:34,380 --> 00:02:36,460 Considering that the economic crisis 59 00:02:36,460 --> 00:02:38,600 is not only seen in Puerto Rico, but globally, 60 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:40,700 universities as a whole 61 00:02:40,700 --> 00:02:43,120 in almost all parts of the world are being affected. 62 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:45,960 The case of Puerto Rico 63 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,860 can be seen as more problematic 64 00:02:49,860 --> 00:02:54,020 considering that this country is a colony of the USA. 65 00:02:54,020 --> 00:02:56,160 The economic disaster, 66 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,580 both in the empire and in the colony 67 00:02:59,580 --> 00:03:02,840 is exacerbated more in terms 68 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:04,980 of general education. 69 00:03:04,980 --> 00:03:09,420 And mainly in the aspect of higher education, 70 00:03:09,420 --> 00:03:13,500 which has led to seeing the future as 71 00:03:13,500 --> 00:03:15,500 something very tragic. 72 00:03:15,500 --> 00:03:17,730 Each year there are less students. 73 00:03:17,730 --> 00:03:19,720 And obviously that’s because of the crisis. 74 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:21,940 Every year more people leave the country 75 00:03:21,940 --> 00:03:23,640 - especially young people. 76 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:26,940 More youth join the army. 77 00:03:26,940 --> 00:03:29,940 They go study at institutes. 78 00:03:29,940 --> 00:03:31,640 They go study in the US. 79 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:35,340 Historically, the University of Puerto Rico, 80 00:03:35,340 --> 00:03:37,340 which is the public university of the country, 81 00:03:37,340 --> 00:03:39,000 is and continues to be, 82 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,000 generally speaking, 83 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,000 a bastion of critical thought. 84 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,220 To be able to talk about the 2010 strike 85 00:03:45,220 --> 00:03:47,560 - or, specifically about how the strike began in 2010 - 86 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,360 we have to go back and talk about the 2005 strike. 87 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:57,130 In 2005, a new increase in tuition was taking place. 88 00:03:57,130 --> 00:04:00,680 We're talking about a 33% tuition increase. 89 00:04:01,460 --> 00:04:03,300 The strike was sparked because of that. 90 00:04:03,300 --> 00:04:06,400 It was sparked so that education could stay accessible. 91 00:04:07,060 --> 00:04:09,060 It was also the strike in which the campus was occupied 92 00:04:09,060 --> 00:04:10,380 and shut down. 93 00:04:10,670 --> 00:04:12,940 The organizing was typical 94 00:04:12,940 --> 00:04:16,560 of traditional leftist socialist political organizations 95 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:18,179 - very centralized - 96 00:04:18,179 --> 00:04:23,720 which created resentments and tensions. 97 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,280 We cannot call it a failure, 98 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:28,900 although the tuition freeze was not won. 99 00:04:28,900 --> 00:04:30,620 Yes, the tuition hike was carried out... 100 00:04:30,620 --> 00:04:33,560 the strike ended in a very chaotic way 101 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,120 But it led many to an awareness of what we want. 102 00:04:38,340 --> 00:04:39,660 At the beginning of 2009 103 00:04:39,660 --> 00:04:41,640 we started to re-organize the university. 104 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,480 We began to realize that we had to break down 105 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:50,620 these traditional centralized and hierarchical structures. 106 00:04:50,620 --> 00:04:51,900 We began to decentralize. 107 00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:55,040 We began to form affinity groups 108 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:56,620 - they were called action committees. 109 00:04:56,620 --> 00:05:00,700 From there came the idea of creating a university union. 110 00:05:01,340 --> 00:05:05,310 Action committees were organized by faculty, 111 00:05:05,310 --> 00:05:06,760 in the case of the Rio Piedras campus. 112 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,080 And they allowed us to have a strike committee 113 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:11,760 overnight, without even having a strike. 114 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,060 Then we started to push the assembly to strike. 115 00:05:15,060 --> 00:05:16,940 And in the assembly, it was already organic. 116 00:05:16,940 --> 00:05:19,300 We were no longer going with the purpose 117 00:05:19,300 --> 00:05:20,580 of convincing people. 118 00:05:21,220 --> 00:05:23,220 We were going to vote for the strike. 119 00:05:23,220 --> 00:05:25,220 And so the strike started. 120 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:27,910 And the strike was like a snowball. 121 00:05:27,910 --> 00:05:30,000 As the snowball kept rolling, it kept growing. 122 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,340 And from there 11 campuses were occupied. 123 00:05:36,190 --> 00:05:38,980 To be able to carry out the strike and be successful, 124 00:05:38,980 --> 00:05:40,660 we had to sacrifice our studies. 125 00:05:40,660 --> 00:05:42,660 So the occupation of the campuses, 126 00:05:42,660 --> 00:05:44,660 of each of the faculties, was that. 127 00:05:44,660 --> 00:05:48,000 To create the impossibility for normality. 128 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,140 We're on strike... therefore there are no classes. 129 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,100 Making a fortress of the Rio Piedras campus 130 00:05:54,100 --> 00:05:57,280 - as did our comrades did in the other campuses - 131 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:00,960 was done to avoid a confrontation with the cops 132 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:02,040 That would have kicked us out, 133 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:03,600 and then the strike would have ended. 134 00:06:05,140 --> 00:06:06,890 That still happened. 135 00:06:06,890 --> 00:06:09,380 But inside, there was an atmosphere of freedom. 136 00:06:09,380 --> 00:06:10,900 An atmosphere of coexistence 137 00:06:10,900 --> 00:06:12,990 and social transformation. 138 00:06:12,990 --> 00:06:14,400 That's where that idea comes in. 139 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:16,180 We learned to make barricades. 140 00:06:16,180 --> 00:06:19,080 We learned to confront the police like never before. 141 00:06:19,540 --> 00:06:22,840 "Out! Out! Cops get out!" 142 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:25,320 We learned to think strategically. 143 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,260 We learned to attract the people, the public. 144 00:06:28,260 --> 00:06:30,260 Not only was the campus taken, 145 00:06:30,260 --> 00:06:32,110 the streets were taken too. 146 00:06:32,110 --> 00:06:34,260 I think that 2010 and 2011 transformed people. 147 00:06:34,260 --> 00:06:37,540 It allowed the strike of 2017 148 00:06:37,540 --> 00:06:39,540 to be a different strike. 149 00:06:39,540 --> 00:06:41,540 There was a consciousness, 150 00:06:41,540 --> 00:06:43,360 and the genie was out of the bottle. 151 00:06:43,860 --> 00:06:46,340 < 152 00:06:46,340 --> 00:06:48,340 on the so-called ‘PROMESA’ bill, 153 00:06:48,340 --> 00:06:51,000 which would establish a means for Puerto Rico 154 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,840 to restructure its 72 billion dollars in debt 155 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:57,760 but would also impose a Financial Control Board 156 00:06:57,760 --> 00:06:59,350 - or what I and other people call it - 157 00:06:59,350 --> 00:07:00,820 a colonial control board 158 00:07:00,820 --> 00:07:02,740 over the commonwealth of Puerto Rico.>> 159 00:07:03,180 --> 00:07:05,180 The Fiscal Control Board 160 00:07:05,180 --> 00:07:08,120 overrules the government of Puerto Rico 161 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,120 and decides the austerity measures to be imposed 162 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:12,630 on the people. 163 00:07:12,630 --> 00:07:14,750 And one of the first things it did 164 00:07:14,750 --> 00:07:18,420 was propose cuts to the University of Puerto Rico. 165 00:07:18,980 --> 00:07:21,960 The cuts - first they were $300 million 166 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,300 now they are $450 million. 167 00:07:24,300 --> 00:07:27,060 One of the things that was discussed in the fiscal plan 168 00:07:27,060 --> 00:07:28,820 was a tuition increase. 169 00:07:28,820 --> 00:07:32,680 In 2016, when us students found this out, 170 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,160 we began to organize. 171 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,160 And we went on strike 172 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,260 in 2010-11 committees were organized by faculty. 173 00:07:42,260 --> 00:07:45,180 In 2017, we did the same thing. 174 00:07:45,180 --> 00:07:46,800 But new committees were created, 175 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:48,800 such as the athlete's committee, 176 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,400 the seed-garden committee, 177 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:53,880 and other committees and working groups, 178 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:55,910 such as the gender working group. 179 00:07:55,910 --> 00:08:00,540 The strike was also connected to the crisis 180 00:08:00,540 --> 00:08:01,960 that the country was going through. 181 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,860 it was tied to the fight against the Fiscal Control Board, 182 00:08:04,860 --> 00:08:07,840 to the struggle for independence. 183 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,320 The majority of our protests 184 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,320 were outside the university. 185 00:08:15,820 --> 00:08:18,940 The fact that we were on strike 186 00:08:18,940 --> 00:08:22,300 helped a lot with organizing May Day, 187 00:08:22,300 --> 00:08:25,200 and the tactics that were used. 188 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,380 Black bloc tactics were used, 189 00:08:27,380 --> 00:08:30,340 and striking students were able to 190 00:08:30,340 --> 00:08:32,760 organize that black bloc. 191 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,140 They were able to make contacts with other people 192 00:08:36,140 --> 00:08:38,140 who were not students, 193 00:08:38,140 --> 00:08:40,320 but who could participate in the strike, because 194 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:42,440 even though it was a student strike 195 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:44,480 it was open to the people. 196 00:08:47,970 --> 00:08:50,070 On May 22nd 2012, 197 00:08:50,070 --> 00:08:53,160 over 200,000 people took to the streets of Montreal, 198 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:55,390 in the largest act of civil disobedience 199 00:08:55,390 --> 00:08:57,230 to ever occur in the territories ruled 200 00:08:57,230 --> 00:08:58,520 by the Canadian state. 201 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,360 This demonstration was part of the so-called Maple Spring, 202 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,960 a massive general strike involving over 300,000 students 203 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,070 of Quebec's universities and CEGEP's, 204 00:09:07,070 --> 00:09:10,400 or Collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel, 205 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:11,800 a province-wide network 206 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:13,960 of publicly-funded vocational colleges. 207 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:15,430 Like many other demos that occurred 208 00:09:15,430 --> 00:09:17,360 in the weeks and months that followed, 209 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:19,280 the May 22 manif was illegal. 210 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,230 Those marching that day were doing so 211 00:09:21,230 --> 00:09:23,680 in open defiance of the so-called Special Law, 212 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:26,720 Bill 78, a repressive piece of legislation 213 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:29,200 that had recently been passed by the Liberal government, 214 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:31,850 and which had sought to criminalize all demonstrations 215 00:09:31,850 --> 00:09:34,560 whose routes were not submitted to the police in advance. 216 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:37,880 Quebec has a long and storied history of student radicalism, 217 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:39,930 and the province has seen no less than ten 218 00:09:39,930 --> 00:09:42,760 student-led general strikes in the past fifty years. 219 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,760 But the 2012 strike lasted nearly eight months, 220 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:47,480 making it by far the longest, 221 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:49,680 and largest such strike in Quebec history. 222 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:51,950 The social upheaval provoked by this movement 223 00:09:51,950 --> 00:09:54,680 ended up toppling the provincial government of Jean Charest, 224 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:56,880 and rolling back the proposed tuition increase 225 00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:58,960 that it had originally been launched to oppose. 226 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,130 And yet... the fact that the end of the strike 227 00:10:01,130 --> 00:10:02,600 still felt like a crushing defeat, 228 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:04,840 despite ostensibly achieving its goals, 229 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:06,490 is a testament to the conviction 230 00:10:06,490 --> 00:10:08,280 it had inspired in its participants 231 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,080 that an entirely new world was within their grasp. 232 00:10:12,608 --> 00:10:13,848 In Quebec specifically, 233 00:10:13,848 --> 00:10:16,820 the student movement is a big political force 234 00:10:16,820 --> 00:10:19,835 and it has a continuity through history 235 00:10:19,835 --> 00:10:21,725 of social and political organizing. 236 00:10:21,725 --> 00:10:23,345 The francophone student movement in Quebec 237 00:10:23,345 --> 00:10:24,718 goes back to the 60's, 238 00:10:24,718 --> 00:10:26,598 where in Quebec we had this movement 239 00:10:26,598 --> 00:10:28,433 called “the Quiet Revolution”. 240 00:10:28,433 --> 00:10:30,431 Because most of the universities were controlled 241 00:10:30,431 --> 00:10:31,669 either by the Church, 242 00:10:31,669 --> 00:10:33,048 or by the anglophones. 243 00:10:33,048 --> 00:10:35,488 So only really rich francophones could go 244 00:10:35,491 --> 00:10:36,859 to universities and colleges. 245 00:10:36,859 --> 00:10:41,625 The CEGEPs were founded by actual occupations of colleges 246 00:10:41,625 --> 00:10:43,848 demanding for accessible schooling. 247 00:10:43,848 --> 00:10:49,208 And it led to a huge wave of francophones and poor people 248 00:10:49,208 --> 00:10:52,382 getting access to so-called higher education. 249 00:10:52,382 --> 00:10:53,852 One of the interesting aspects 250 00:10:53,852 --> 00:10:55,342 about the Quebec student movement 251 00:10:55,342 --> 00:10:58,893 is that there's a certain level of institutionalization 252 00:10:58,893 --> 00:11:00,255 of student unions. 253 00:11:00,255 --> 00:11:02,575 Students are able to follow through 254 00:11:02,575 --> 00:11:04,188 from struggle to struggle. 255 00:11:04,188 --> 00:11:06,126 So for example in 2005, 256 00:11:06,126 --> 00:11:07,810 where students might have been involved 257 00:11:07,810 --> 00:11:09,983 at the CGEP level, at the college level 258 00:11:09,983 --> 00:11:13,503 – in 2012 they would have been at the university level 259 00:11:13,503 --> 00:11:14,843 and they could have been involved 260 00:11:14,843 --> 00:11:16,498 in transferring their experience 261 00:11:16,498 --> 00:11:19,701 and their knowledge to younger generations of activists. 262 00:11:19,863 --> 00:11:24,443 It has had a lot of impact on the youth in general, 263 00:11:24,456 --> 00:11:27,705 and the way school is held in Quebec. 264 00:11:30,067 --> 00:11:33,543 ASSE is a federation of local student unions 265 00:11:33,543 --> 00:11:36,418 that was created in 2001 to fight off the influence 266 00:11:36,418 --> 00:11:39,982 of the two other main student union federations, 267 00:11:39,982 --> 00:11:42,404 that were more on the political lobbying scene. 268 00:11:42,416 --> 00:11:45,709 ASSE has always seen the government as an enemy 269 00:11:45,709 --> 00:11:46,855 that needs to be combated. 270 00:11:46,855 --> 00:11:48,398 We don't wanna negotiate with these people. 271 00:11:48,398 --> 00:11:49,845 We wanna force them to act. 272 00:11:49,845 --> 00:11:53,607 What ASSE is about is really grouping together 273 00:11:53,607 --> 00:11:56,179 local student unions and providing spaces 274 00:11:56,179 --> 00:11:58,264 in which these local student unions 275 00:11:58,268 --> 00:12:02,534 are able to interact with each other, exchange information 276 00:12:02,534 --> 00:12:04,901 — and most importantly, take collective action. 277 00:12:04,901 --> 00:12:06,827 So how it works is that 278 00:12:06,827 --> 00:12:09,576 you've got many different colleges and universities 279 00:12:09,576 --> 00:12:12,310 that are members of the ASSE, and in between 280 00:12:12,310 --> 00:12:15,653 – like in colleges and universities specifically – 281 00:12:15,665 --> 00:12:19,325 the unions are separated by faculties. 282 00:12:19,327 --> 00:12:22,633 If a student union wants to become a member of ASSE, 283 00:12:22,633 --> 00:12:26,541 it has to organize on the principle of direct democracy. 284 00:12:26,543 --> 00:12:30,097 There is no talk of doing lobby work with politicians, 285 00:12:30,097 --> 00:12:31,111 for example, 286 00:12:31,111 --> 00:12:33,560 there's no talk of even doing a demo 287 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:36,724 without it being voted in a GA. 288 00:12:36,724 --> 00:12:39,083 I don't think striking would have been possible 289 00:12:39,087 --> 00:12:40,857 without this kind of organization. 290 00:12:40,857 --> 00:12:42,942 A general assembly, or a GA, 291 00:12:42,942 --> 00:12:45,959 is just the practice of getting together as a group 292 00:12:45,959 --> 00:12:48,624 to discuss matters at hand that concern you. 293 00:12:48,624 --> 00:12:50,810 Everybody can come in and can vote 294 00:12:50,810 --> 00:12:52,274 and propose whatever they want. 295 00:12:52,274 --> 00:12:54,080 There has to be some procedures, 296 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:58,136 but the idea is to have the structure as open as possible 297 00:12:58,136 --> 00:12:59,883 for everybody to be able to speak 298 00:12:59,883 --> 00:13:01,303 on different subjects and matters 299 00:13:01,303 --> 00:13:02,377 and propose what they want. 300 00:13:02,377 --> 00:13:06,198 It's so important that students have this space 301 00:13:06,198 --> 00:13:08,736 to meet and organize together. 302 00:13:08,736 --> 00:13:11,054 Having a general assembly go on strike 303 00:13:11,054 --> 00:13:13,055 means that the whole faculty goes on strike. 304 00:13:13,055 --> 00:13:14,991 The whole collective is bound to that decision. 305 00:13:14,991 --> 00:13:17,037 And that meant we could block the whole campus. 306 00:13:20,064 --> 00:13:22,182 I was one of the people you could say 307 00:13:22,182 --> 00:13:24,757 was politically born in 2012. 308 00:13:24,757 --> 00:13:28,093 As was the case for thousands of people in Quebec. 309 00:13:28,093 --> 00:13:30,266 What happened then was magical. 310 00:13:30,266 --> 00:13:33,562 It was a social upheaval like you don't see very often, 311 00:13:33,562 --> 00:13:36,618 and it schooled us to street politics, 312 00:13:36,618 --> 00:13:38,920 to radical democracy, 313 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,022 to what can really be obtained 314 00:13:41,022 --> 00:13:44,155 by making strong bonds and fighting together. 315 00:13:44,155 --> 00:13:47,549 The 2012 strike was a result of, I would say, 316 00:13:47,549 --> 00:13:50,121 at least three years of grassroots organizing. 317 00:13:50,121 --> 00:13:52,265 We knew in 2009 318 00:13:52,265 --> 00:13:55,441 that the government was planning to raise up tuition fees. 319 00:13:55,441 --> 00:13:57,018 So we had time to prepare. 320 00:13:57,018 --> 00:13:59,260 Our goal was to go step-by-step, 321 00:13:59,260 --> 00:14:03,486 and then to have increasingly radical actions. 322 00:14:03,486 --> 00:14:05,166 And eventually, 323 00:14:05,166 --> 00:14:07,342 when the government decided to raise the tuition, 324 00:14:07,342 --> 00:14:08,464 we were able to tell the people 325 00:14:08,464 --> 00:14:09,843 “we've done everything.” 326 00:14:09,843 --> 00:14:12,023 Y'know, we've done petitions. We've sent letters. 327 00:14:12,023 --> 00:14:13,673 We called everybody. 328 00:14:13,674 --> 00:14:16,019 We did all these things that we knew wouldn't work. 329 00:14:16,019 --> 00:14:17,886 And now the only thing we have left to do 330 00:14:17,886 --> 00:14:19,282 is to go on a general strike. 331 00:14:19,282 --> 00:14:20,577 So there's this whole build up 332 00:14:20,577 --> 00:14:24,072 that was really important to the success of that strike. 333 00:14:24,263 --> 00:14:26,059 What the student strike does, 334 00:14:26,059 --> 00:14:28,855 by massively shutting down campuses 335 00:14:28,855 --> 00:14:30,855 in universities and colleges 336 00:14:30,855 --> 00:14:32,621 is it frees up students to 337 00:14:32,621 --> 00:14:35,518 not only organize within the struggle, 338 00:14:35,518 --> 00:14:37,998 but also think about the issues that are outside. 339 00:14:38,550 --> 00:14:40,375 And at the beginning, people were saying 340 00:14:40,375 --> 00:14:43,295 “oh, y'know... these people are striking against tuition fees. 341 00:14:43,295 --> 00:14:45,638 It's a very student-centric struggle. 342 00:14:45,638 --> 00:14:47,309 They only want to protect themselves.” 343 00:14:47,309 --> 00:14:49,540 But eventually they saw that what we wanted 344 00:14:49,540 --> 00:14:53,306 was more radical than just striking against tuition hikes. 345 00:14:53,306 --> 00:14:55,640 We were for a really different society. 346 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,680 And the strike was only a representation of that. 347 00:14:58,883 --> 00:15:01,301 The context of 2012 really opened space, 348 00:15:01,301 --> 00:15:04,217 opened cracks within people's daily lives 349 00:15:04,217 --> 00:15:07,008 to consider other methods of struggle, 350 00:15:07,008 --> 00:15:08,616 other methods of organizing. 351 00:15:08,616 --> 00:15:11,565 The 2012 strike was about student debt, 352 00:15:11,565 --> 00:15:14,817 which is incredibly high for everybody. 353 00:15:14,817 --> 00:15:16,687 But then it also gave us a chance 354 00:15:16,687 --> 00:15:18,257 to touch on debt in general. 355 00:15:18,257 --> 00:15:19,769 Why is everybody so in debt? 356 00:15:19,769 --> 00:15:21,024 Why is everybody so poor, 357 00:15:21,024 --> 00:15:22,998 when they're working all their lives away? 358 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:24,970 During the summer of 2012 359 00:15:24,970 --> 00:15:27,159 we saw the emergence of assemblies, 360 00:15:27,159 --> 00:15:28,813 of, like, neighbourhood assemblies, 361 00:15:28,813 --> 00:15:30,196 which were called APAQs 362 00:15:30,196 --> 00:15:32,451 – Assemblées Populaire Autonome de Quartier. 363 00:15:32,451 --> 00:15:35,423 So basically autonomous neighbourhood assemblies. 364 00:15:35,423 --> 00:15:37,284 I think it was a gateway for 365 00:15:37,284 --> 00:15:39,803 a lot of more in-depth thinking 366 00:15:39,803 --> 00:15:41,413 about the current situation, 367 00:15:41,413 --> 00:15:42,548 which everybody shares. 368 00:15:42,700 --> 00:15:45,597 Everybody can realize, y'know, we're being fucked over. 369 00:15:45,597 --> 00:15:46,643 And eventually, 370 00:15:46,643 --> 00:15:49,609 after maybe five months of all the universities 371 00:15:49,609 --> 00:15:51,634 and the colleges being paralyzed, 372 00:15:51,635 --> 00:15:54,562 the government decided to pass a special law 373 00:15:54,562 --> 00:15:56,555 banning public demonstrations. 374 00:15:56,557 --> 00:15:59,571 And that was the straw that broke the camel's back. 375 00:15:59,571 --> 00:16:02,931 People started banging pots on their balconies one night, 376 00:16:02,931 --> 00:16:04,990 and then the night afterwards, 377 00:16:04,992 --> 00:16:06,965 everybody was in the streets banging pots 378 00:16:06,965 --> 00:16:08,355 against the general law. 379 00:16:08,516 --> 00:16:11,723 So Jean Charest is sending Quebeckers to the polls. 380 00:16:11,723 --> 00:16:14,174 We really faced a wall when the government decided 381 00:16:14,174 --> 00:16:15,551 that they couldn't go on, 382 00:16:15,551 --> 00:16:17,173 and decided to call an election. 383 00:16:17,173 --> 00:16:20,345 It was taken back from us by sold-out politicians 384 00:16:20,345 --> 00:16:23,731 that gained capital on our struggle. 385 00:16:23,731 --> 00:16:26,481 A lot of people just thought... we had won. 386 00:16:26,481 --> 00:16:29,554 Because everybody was gonna vote on something, 387 00:16:29,554 --> 00:16:31,119 and elections would solve everything. 388 00:16:31,119 --> 00:16:35,686 We have to beware of elections as a way to solve struggles. 389 00:16:35,686 --> 00:16:36,953 Because it didn't solve anything. 390 00:16:36,953 --> 00:16:39,582 Following 2012 there was three years 391 00:16:39,582 --> 00:16:41,664 of very brutal repression in the streets, 392 00:16:41,664 --> 00:16:44,881 specifically targeting student organization, 393 00:16:44,881 --> 00:16:47,019 in the hopes of breaking down the student movement. 394 00:16:47,019 --> 00:16:48,202 And so in 2015, 395 00:16:48,202 --> 00:16:50,404 there was an independent group that formed 396 00:16:50,404 --> 00:16:52,050 within the walls of UQAM 397 00:16:52,050 --> 00:16:53,893 – Université du Québec à Montréal – 398 00:16:53,893 --> 00:16:56,460 to start organizing again and fight back. 399 00:16:56,460 --> 00:16:57,999 It was an anarchist strike, 400 00:16:57,999 --> 00:17:02,089 in the sense that it was a refusal to let the institutions 401 00:17:02,089 --> 00:17:04,961 and the corporations instrumentalize us 402 00:17:04,961 --> 00:17:06,889 and put words in our mouth. 403 00:17:06,889 --> 00:17:11,123 So 2015 was really about the heritage of 2012. 404 00:17:11,126 --> 00:17:14,187 But it was also a message to the ones coming up 405 00:17:14,187 --> 00:17:15,542 that it was still possible. 406 00:17:15,542 --> 00:17:18,672 We still have the structures to get up and fight together. 407 00:17:22,215 --> 00:17:23,285 Without a doubt 408 00:17:23,285 --> 00:17:24,835 the most sustained student movement 409 00:17:24,835 --> 00:17:26,240 in the so-called Americas 410 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:29,400 can be found in the territories ruled by the Chilean state. 411 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,160 Since the 2006 protests 412 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:33,780 popularly known as the Penguin's Revolution, 413 00:17:33,780 --> 00:17:36,960 through the Chilean Winter of 2011-2013, 414 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:38,520 and continuing to today, 415 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:39,870 the Chilean student movement 416 00:17:39,870 --> 00:17:42,810 has represented a consistent pole of radical activity 417 00:17:42,810 --> 00:17:44,320 in the southern Andean country, 418 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:46,640 drawing in hundreds of thousands of participants 419 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:48,450 and helping to topple multiple governments, 420 00:17:48,450 --> 00:17:50,200 seemingly without breaking stride. 421 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:51,370 While its roots lie 422 00:17:51,370 --> 00:17:52,800 in the militant youth wings 423 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,000 of the socialist and communist parties 424 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,360 that once formed an important pillar of support 425 00:17:57,360 --> 00:17:59,520 for former president Salvador Allende, 426 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:02,420 student radicalism was effectively suppressed in Chile 427 00:18:02,420 --> 00:18:04,960 during the long years of the Pinochet dictatorship. 428 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:06,900 Today's student movement is still struggling 429 00:18:06,900 --> 00:18:09,040 against the economic legacies of this period, 430 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:11,860 in which the regime embraced neoliberal shock doctrines 431 00:18:11,860 --> 00:18:13,760 that led to one of the most heavily privatized 432 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:15,760 education systems in the world. 433 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,680 While the demands of today's reconstituted student movement 434 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:20,720 began with relatively humble requests, 435 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:22,440 such as free bus passes 436 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:23,970 and the waiving of onerous fees 437 00:18:23,970 --> 00:18:25,540 for university admission tests, 438 00:18:25,540 --> 00:18:27,630 they have since evolved into militant calls 439 00:18:27,630 --> 00:18:29,520 for free post-secondary education 440 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,440 that have brought the entire capitalist system into question. 441 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,340 Education in Chile is deeply segregated by class. 442 00:18:38,820 --> 00:18:44,240 The level of privatization caused students to go into debt. 443 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:48,720 Families would be spending such a large portion 444 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:51,720 of their earnings to pay for education 445 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,490 that people started to realize that it was a right 446 00:18:54,490 --> 00:18:56,260 that they were being deprived of 447 00:18:56,260 --> 00:18:58,040 and that they had to begin to mobilize. 448 00:18:58,580 --> 00:19:02,440 Traditional universities, especially state universities, 449 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:06,280 have a long tradition of student organizing and mobilizing, 450 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,730 where student federations are established organizations 451 00:19:10,730 --> 00:19:14,140 and are “accepted” by the rectories 452 00:19:14,140 --> 00:19:16,470 and the government as a valid interlocutor 453 00:19:16,470 --> 00:19:18,920 when discussing student issues. 454 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:22,860 The private universities that were established in 1981 455 00:19:22,860 --> 00:19:24,360 are institutions that, 456 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:25,840 generally speaking, 457 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,420 have only had university federations since the 2000s. 458 00:19:29,420 --> 00:19:31,030 It was at that moment that the students began 459 00:19:31,030 --> 00:19:32,860 to demand their right to organize 460 00:19:32,860 --> 00:19:35,280 in a federation that was legitimized 461 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:37,180 by the rectories of those institutions. 462 00:19:37,180 --> 00:19:39,860 The university federations are grouped in CONFECH. 463 00:19:40,860 --> 00:19:44,120 The CONFECH is the federation of Chilean students 464 00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:46,370 and is like the main body 465 00:19:46,370 --> 00:19:49,790 bringing together the different university federations 466 00:19:49,790 --> 00:19:52,650 of the majority of Chilean universities, 467 00:19:52,650 --> 00:19:55,260 whether they be private or public. 468 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:00,300 The movement of 2011 was a really defining moment. 469 00:20:00,300 --> 00:20:04,420 People felt and believed in a struggle of their own, 470 00:20:04,420 --> 00:20:06,590 and seeing that the demonstrations 471 00:20:06,590 --> 00:20:08,680 began to attract many students, 472 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,160 a much deeper analysis began to take form 473 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:12,470 with regards to education. 474 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,330 The main slogans that guided the mobilization 475 00:20:16,330 --> 00:20:18,300 cover different areas. 476 00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:20,300 The first has to do with free education, 477 00:20:20,300 --> 00:20:22,600 the demand that higher education 478 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,400 be free and accessible for all students, 479 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,700 regardless of the socio-economic level of their families. 480 00:20:28,700 --> 00:20:30,000 The second has to do 481 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,440 with the forgiveness of debts incurred by Chilean families 482 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:35,440 during the process of educating their children. 483 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:37,470 The third has to do with the orientation 484 00:20:37,470 --> 00:20:39,580 that education has in our country. 485 00:20:39,580 --> 00:20:42,480 And there, the CONFECH’s demand 486 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:44,440 is to advance the creation 487 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,460 of a national development project, 488 00:20:46,460 --> 00:20:48,300 in which the universities 489 00:20:48,300 --> 00:20:50,980 – and in particular the public and state universities – 490 00:20:50,980 --> 00:20:55,180 play a strategic role in the design of public policies, 491 00:20:55,180 --> 00:20:56,670 in conjunction with the state. 492 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,820 It was at that point that secondary students 493 00:21:05,820 --> 00:21:08,460 also came together with their own demands, 494 00:21:08,460 --> 00:21:11,170 and the need to coordinate 495 00:21:11,170 --> 00:21:13,500 with high school students was sparked, 496 00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:17,370 since they also had been resisting, since 2006 497 00:21:17,370 --> 00:21:19,340 – which was known as the Penguin's Revolution. 498 00:21:19,340 --> 00:21:20,930 We could see a level of support 499 00:21:20,930 --> 00:21:22,880 that no other kind of social movement 500 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:23,880 during the last decades had seen, 501 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:25,760 since the end of the dictatorship. 502 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,000 There were even polls that pointed to 503 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,640 over 80% of the population supporting student demands. 504 00:21:32,060 --> 00:21:33,380 We saw demonstrations 505 00:21:33,380 --> 00:21:36,140 of up to one million people in the capital, 506 00:21:36,140 --> 00:21:38,230 with entire families participating, 507 00:21:38,230 --> 00:21:40,360 with workers' unions participating, 508 00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:41,840 with people in the streets 509 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:42,840 who were not affiliated 510 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:44,340 with any political organization supporting. 511 00:21:44,340 --> 00:21:45,820 The student demands 512 00:21:45,820 --> 00:21:48,820 had resonated with a great majority of the country. 513 00:21:48,820 --> 00:21:51,800 For example, the fight against indebtedness, 514 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,820 but also the struggle for a less classist educational system 515 00:21:55,820 --> 00:21:58,360 that contributes to the development of the country, 516 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:01,240 and not just to the profits of the ruling class. 517 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,700 Within what was called the anarchist movement, 518 00:22:06,700 --> 00:22:09,080 it was thought that the participation of anarchists 519 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:10,900 within the dynamics of the student movement 520 00:22:10,900 --> 00:22:12,890 – for example in the election leaders, 521 00:22:12,890 --> 00:22:15,160 participation in voting, 522 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:17,160 participation in assemblies, etc – 523 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:18,850 was something that did not correspond 524 00:22:18,850 --> 00:22:21,180 to the principles of the anarchist movement. 525 00:22:21,180 --> 00:22:23,930 As of 2003, we decided that it was something 526 00:22:23,930 --> 00:22:25,920 that did not correspond to our current reality, 527 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:27,610 that as a libertarian movement 528 00:22:27,610 --> 00:22:30,880 we had the responsibility to nourish the student movement 529 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:32,880 with our political perspective. 530 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,820 And that if it meant that our comrades 531 00:22:35,820 --> 00:22:38,000 had to take on representational roles 532 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,660 in an attempt to to democratize those spaces, 533 00:22:40,660 --> 00:22:41,650 it had to be done. 534 00:22:42,820 --> 00:22:44,820 There were different visions. 535 00:22:44,820 --> 00:22:45,900 On the one hand, 536 00:22:45,900 --> 00:22:48,460 there were groups that were very, like, platform based, 537 00:22:48,460 --> 00:22:49,940 and who called themselves anarchists. 538 00:22:49,940 --> 00:22:51,880 But they were groups that, after all, 539 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,950 also sought leadership positions. 540 00:22:55,330 --> 00:22:56,520 And on the other hand, 541 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:58,340 there were young people who were looking 542 00:22:58,340 --> 00:23:00,540 for a much more horizontal organization, 543 00:23:00,540 --> 00:23:04,760 a much more direct manifestation, or, direct action. 544 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,620 Beginning with small affinity groups, 545 00:23:07,620 --> 00:23:11,560 a movement that unites from below. 546 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:13,840 I think it served to effectively keep up the pressure. 547 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:16,940 So that it wasn’t so easy to impose the direction 548 00:23:16,940 --> 00:23:19,100 that this movement could take. 549 00:23:19,100 --> 00:23:21,300 It was already super distorted 550 00:23:21,300 --> 00:23:24,140 by the filters of the political parties 551 00:23:24,140 --> 00:23:27,160 that directed the assemblies in some way. 552 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:29,270 f we did not resist in some way, 553 00:23:29,270 --> 00:23:31,300 we were going to let it be much easier 554 00:23:31,300 --> 00:23:32,340 for them to control things. 555 00:23:32,340 --> 00:23:33,620 At the end of the day, 556 00:23:33,620 --> 00:23:37,020 you realized that it served to link you with other people 557 00:23:37,020 --> 00:23:40,620 who were not even part of your student organizations. 558 00:23:40,620 --> 00:23:42,620 But who also had their own networks. 559 00:23:42,620 --> 00:23:45,090 And it allowed you to see what the mistakes were, 560 00:23:45,090 --> 00:23:47,860 or the things that don't really make sense 561 00:23:47,860 --> 00:23:50,680 in the spaces in which people were mobilizing. 562 00:23:51,370 --> 00:23:54,680 I think it's possible to draw several lessons 563 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:57,940 from the experience the Chilean student movement 564 00:23:57,940 --> 00:23:59,840 has accumulated during the last decade and a half. 565 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,640 One of them has to do with the ability 566 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,400 of the student movement and its political organizations 567 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:08,000 to protect its internal democratic structures. 568 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,430 That allows students in the country 569 00:24:11,430 --> 00:24:13,440 to be represented democratically, 570 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,800 and grants legitimacy to their spaces of representation. 571 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:20,560 The other lesson has to do with the need to move 572 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,160 from economic demands to political demands. 573 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:28,300 Questioning not only the way in which neoliberalism 574 00:24:28,300 --> 00:24:30,480 expresses itself concretely in terms of education, 575 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,900 but by questioning the foundations 576 00:24:32,900 --> 00:24:34,800 of neoliberal educational policy. 577 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:36,880 And what that means, is questioning, for example, 578 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,010 the role that banks and the private sector 579 00:24:40,010 --> 00:24:43,140 play in education to the detriment of the public sector. 580 00:24:43,140 --> 00:24:45,030 Another lesson has to do with the ability 581 00:24:45,030 --> 00:24:46,760 of the student movement to exercise, 582 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,400 or establish ties of solidarity with other social movements. 583 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:52,180 During 2011-2012, 584 00:24:52,180 --> 00:24:55,640 we forged a process of coordination 585 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,160 and relationship with labour unions, 586 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:00,160 with neighbourhood organizations, 587 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:02,500 with environmental organizations, 588 00:25:02,500 --> 00:25:04,860 with organizations that fought for 589 00:25:04,860 --> 00:25:06,760 and demanded gender equality, 590 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,000 and with an endless number of other social groups 591 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,120 within Chilean society 592 00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:15,680 that share with us a critique of neoliberal society. 593 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:17,660 Because that allows their political demand 594 00:25:17,660 --> 00:25:20,470 not to be exhausted within the educational demand, 595 00:25:20,470 --> 00:25:22,510 but rather to be projected into a political project 596 00:25:22,510 --> 00:25:25,180 that overcomes the student struggle, 597 00:25:25,180 --> 00:25:27,210 and that is ultimately related to 598 00:25:27,210 --> 00:25:29,380 the struggle against the neoliberal model 599 00:25:29,380 --> 00:25:31,220 – and therefore to the construction 600 00:25:31,220 --> 00:25:33,470 of a different political alternative. 601 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:41,180 Students that go to school in areas without 602 00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:42,960 an established radical student movement 603 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,410 often face structural and political obstacles 604 00:25:45,410 --> 00:25:47,690 to the types of grassroots organizing required 605 00:25:47,690 --> 00:25:49,200 to call general strikes, 606 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:51,680 or otherwise coordinate mass mobilizations 607 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:52,840 of thousands of rowdy youth 608 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:54,840 eager to throw down against the cops. 609 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:55,890 In so-called Canada, 610 00:25:55,890 --> 00:25:57,830 student unions outside of Quebec 611 00:25:57,830 --> 00:26:00,720 are run according to the logic of representative democracy, 612 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,300 whereby decision-making is heavily concentrated 613 00:26:03,300 --> 00:26:05,480 in the hands of a small executive body, 614 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:07,720 whose members are elected to annual terms. 615 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:09,870 These schools also lack institutions 616 00:26:09,870 --> 00:26:12,400 of popular participation and direct democracy, 617 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:13,650 such as the general assemblies 618 00:26:13,650 --> 00:26:15,590 that proved so crucial to helping to kick off 619 00:26:15,590 --> 00:26:17,840 the 2012 student strike in Quebec. 620 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:19,440 Making matters even worse, 621 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,280 many of these local student unions are grouped into large, 622 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,530 reformist student blocks like the CFS, 623 00:26:24,530 --> 00:26:26,630 or Canadian Federation of Students, 624 00:26:26,630 --> 00:26:29,040 who are heavily invested in the status quo. 625 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,410 Each year, the CFS national executive 626 00:26:31,410 --> 00:26:34,200 collects millions of dollars out of students' tuition fees, 627 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,220 which they then funnel into harmlessly lobbying politicians 628 00:26:37,220 --> 00:26:39,320 and paying their own bloated salaries. 629 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:40,930 Not only do groups like the CFS 630 00:26:40,930 --> 00:26:43,750 occupy a space where a potentially revolutionary 631 00:26:43,750 --> 00:26:45,810 national student federation could exist, 632 00:26:45,810 --> 00:26:48,180 but they often employ a ruthless mix of lawyers, 633 00:26:48,180 --> 00:26:49,720 fear-mongering campaigns 634 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,640 and procedural red tape in order to maintain their control 635 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:54,900 and ensure that no radical threats to their position 636 00:26:54,900 --> 00:26:56,000 are allowed to emerge. 637 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,040 But resistance has to start somewhere. 638 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,240 The secret is discovering where to begin. 639 00:27:01,743 --> 00:27:05,684 These are very transforming times in one's life. 640 00:27:05,684 --> 00:27:08,244 So it's a time to learn how to act together 641 00:27:08,244 --> 00:27:09,898 and take control on the world, 642 00:27:09,898 --> 00:27:11,265 which needs you. 643 00:27:11,265 --> 00:27:13,639 It's going bad out there. 644 00:27:13,639 --> 00:27:17,852 And there is such poor political culture. 645 00:27:17,855 --> 00:27:19,610 And the only way to break that 646 00:27:19,610 --> 00:27:22,504 is to learn to speak to one another on common grounds 647 00:27:22,504 --> 00:27:26,203 and find what can spur us towards action. 648 00:27:26,654 --> 00:27:28,772 There's really a deep interconnection 649 00:27:28,772 --> 00:27:30,322 between student organizing 650 00:27:30,322 --> 00:27:33,718 and anti-capitalist and anarchist organizing in Montreal. 651 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:35,127 The student movement in Quebec 652 00:27:35,127 --> 00:27:38,636 has existed and has organized grassroots struggles 653 00:27:38,636 --> 00:27:41,928 long before student unions were officially recognized. 654 00:27:41,928 --> 00:27:44,978 And certainly within the student movement, 655 00:27:44,978 --> 00:27:47,859 these ideas of direct democracy 656 00:27:47,859 --> 00:27:49,687 – they don't come out of the ether. 657 00:27:50,612 --> 00:27:51,882 In the coming years, 658 00:27:51,882 --> 00:27:56,420 we will confront the austerity measures 659 00:27:56,420 --> 00:27:58,420 of the Fiscal Control Board 660 00:27:58,420 --> 00:28:00,330 and US Congress. 661 00:28:00,330 --> 00:28:02,760 But I think that we're stronger now 662 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,240 because students are more organized. 663 00:28:07,007 --> 00:28:08,507 I think one of the things, also, 664 00:28:08,507 --> 00:28:11,312 that anti-capitalists can bring to the student movement 665 00:28:11,312 --> 00:28:14,051 – and they have brought it, and it's been welcomed, also – 666 00:28:14,051 --> 00:28:17,155 is this analysis that striking for student issues 667 00:28:17,155 --> 00:28:18,552 is really important. 668 00:28:18,552 --> 00:28:21,087 But ultimately, blocking a tuition hike 669 00:28:21,087 --> 00:28:23,607 isn't going to overthrow society. 670 00:28:23,607 --> 00:28:26,114 It's not going to overthrow capitalism 671 00:28:26,114 --> 00:28:28,492 and it's not gonna really solve 672 00:28:28,492 --> 00:28:31,179 the day-to-day problems that students face. 673 00:28:31,179 --> 00:28:32,732 What the student movement does, 674 00:28:32,734 --> 00:28:35,050 by organizing a political struggle, 675 00:28:35,050 --> 00:28:38,766 is that it exposes the state, and its policies 676 00:28:38,766 --> 00:28:40,802 and the government for what they really are. 677 00:28:42,474 --> 00:28:44,960 To be able to defend the right to mobilize, 678 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:47,920 we have to be capable of formulating a political discourse 679 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:49,780 that allows us to count on 680 00:28:49,780 --> 00:28:51,080 the substantial support of the people, 681 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:53,080 so that our demands are understood. 682 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,080 So that the tactics utilized 683 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:56,700 - be they street battles, 684 00:28:56,700 --> 00:28:58,090 street demonstrations, 685 00:28:58,090 --> 00:29:00,640 or university building occupations, 686 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:02,780 is understood by the citizens. 687 00:29:02,780 --> 00:29:04,780 To achieve that, it's important to 688 00:29:04,780 --> 00:29:06,780 publicize our objectives. 689 00:29:06,780 --> 00:29:10,340 To publish videos explaining why we are mobilizing 690 00:29:10,340 --> 00:29:13,320 - the reasons why we are mobilizing - 691 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,300 and connect the demands of the students 692 00:29:16,300 --> 00:29:20,700 with the hardships that workers endure every day. 693 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:25,870 If we don't fight to transform our country, 694 00:29:25,870 --> 00:29:28,660 we won't be able to fight for a real education. 695 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:30,880 The independence of Puerto Rico would be 696 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,220 one aspect of our success. 697 00:29:33,220 --> 00:29:35,220 Quality public education is 698 00:29:35,220 --> 00:29:37,220 one aspect of our struggle. 699 00:29:37,220 --> 00:29:39,220 The education of the street is 700 00:29:39,220 --> 00:29:41,220 another aspect of our struggle. 701 00:29:41,220 --> 00:29:43,690 I can say that many of the comrades who 702 00:29:43,690 --> 00:29:46,940 were involved in the 2010-11 strike, 703 00:29:46,940 --> 00:29:48,940 and the one in 2017, 704 00:29:48,940 --> 00:29:50,158 understood that. 705 00:29:50,158 --> 00:29:52,063 That's why they are organizing alternative projects. 706 00:29:52,660 --> 00:29:54,660 New organizations emerge 707 00:29:54,660 --> 00:29:58,230 that were not tied to past political groups. 708 00:29:58,230 --> 00:30:00,860 These new organizations emerge 709 00:30:00,860 --> 00:30:03,820 to meet the needs of the students. 710 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,980 Give priority to grassroots organizing more than 711 00:30:08,980 --> 00:30:12,120 groups that direct from the top. 712 00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:19,060 Otherwise it becomes an imaginary mobilization. 713 00:30:20,501 --> 00:30:22,928 One of the big stumbling blocks, I think, 714 00:30:22,928 --> 00:30:25,991 that has to be broken down elsewhere 715 00:30:25,991 --> 00:30:28,787 is that representative student democracy 716 00:30:28,787 --> 00:30:31,911 is really just a breeding ground for politicians. 717 00:30:31,911 --> 00:30:35,232 And we know, like, what politicians are about. 718 00:30:35,232 --> 00:30:37,822 And they're not about defending students 719 00:30:37,822 --> 00:30:39,513 and defending student issues. 720 00:30:40,820 --> 00:30:42,498 It's hard to bring a new student union 721 00:30:42,498 --> 00:30:46,537 that was used to the more lobbying sphere, 722 00:30:46,537 --> 00:30:48,322 to a more grassroots organizing. 723 00:30:48,322 --> 00:30:50,016 Because you have to organize. 724 00:30:50,016 --> 00:30:51,531 You have to mobilize people. 725 00:30:51,531 --> 00:30:53,749 It's a lot of work, but it's also very rewarding. 726 00:30:53,749 --> 00:30:55,811 You talk to people, you politicize them, 727 00:30:55,811 --> 00:30:58,533 and you have the impression you're really changing things. 728 00:30:58,533 --> 00:31:00,823 This mindset is very different from 729 00:31:00,823 --> 00:31:04,548 the other big student federations in Canada and Quebec 730 00:31:04,548 --> 00:31:06,512 that tends to see the government as, 731 00:31:06,512 --> 00:31:10,052 not an ally, but something that can be reasoned with. 732 00:31:10,823 --> 00:31:15,129 We've heard about how CFS has used legal devices 733 00:31:15,129 --> 00:31:17,111 and lawyers and courts 734 00:31:17,111 --> 00:31:20,833 to try and keep student unions under control. 735 00:31:20,836 --> 00:31:23,054 But I think it's becoming more and more clear 736 00:31:23,054 --> 00:31:27,162 to students across Canada that the CFS is really 737 00:31:27,162 --> 00:31:30,114 more about control and money 738 00:31:30,114 --> 00:31:32,463 than actual student organizing. 739 00:31:33,894 --> 00:31:35,454 Organizing with the people, 740 00:31:35,454 --> 00:31:37,643 and having a broad movement 741 00:31:37,643 --> 00:31:39,430 is a really strong thing. 742 00:31:39,430 --> 00:31:41,697 It might sound cheesy, 743 00:31:41,697 --> 00:31:46,324 but I truly believe that it can be a gateway 744 00:31:46,324 --> 00:31:48,188 for better friendships, 745 00:31:48,188 --> 00:31:49,852 deeper relationships 746 00:31:49,852 --> 00:31:52,292 with the people you share your life with, 747 00:31:52,292 --> 00:31:55,621 your spaces with... your neighbourhood with. 748 00:31:56,278 --> 00:31:59,340 It was the massive student movement, 749 00:31:59,340 --> 00:32:02,380 plus the support of the people for our political demands 750 00:32:02,380 --> 00:32:05,240 that allowed us to confront the repression 751 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:07,740 with a violence of self-defense 752 00:32:07,740 --> 00:32:09,630 that was legitimized 753 00:32:09,630 --> 00:32:12,720 by a large group of the population. 754 00:32:13,980 --> 00:32:16,440 Police and state repression 755 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,140 transformed us. 756 00:32:19,140 --> 00:32:21,140 It radicalized us. 757 00:32:21,140 --> 00:32:23,840 Changing us from student fighters 758 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:25,465 into street fighters. 759 00:32:25,465 --> 00:32:26,330 Do it! 760 00:32:26,330 --> 00:32:28,644 You guys are what's coming. 761 00:32:34,017 --> 00:32:35,607 As the global political climate 762 00:32:35,607 --> 00:32:38,030 continues to accelerate from bad to worse, 763 00:32:38,030 --> 00:32:39,460 prospects for our collective future 764 00:32:39,460 --> 00:32:40,910 are looking pretty bleak. 765 00:32:40,910 --> 00:32:42,790 Today's generations are faced 766 00:32:42,790 --> 00:32:45,810 with a myriad of seemingly intractable problems, 767 00:32:45,810 --> 00:32:47,960 rooted in an increasingly authoritarian 768 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:50,360 and repressive international capitalist regime, 769 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:52,090 and whose dire consequences 770 00:32:52,090 --> 00:32:53,970 pose existential threats to the planet 771 00:32:53,970 --> 00:32:55,600 and even humanity itself. 772 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,380 Many of the radicals of '68 773 00:32:57,380 --> 00:33:00,250 have now been incorporated into the very systems of control 774 00:33:00,250 --> 00:33:01,680 they once rose up to oppose. 775 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:03,640 If we hope to alter the dangerous trajectory 776 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:04,980 we now find ourselves on, 777 00:33:04,980 --> 00:33:07,530 it is vital that a new generation of revolutionaries 778 00:33:07,530 --> 00:33:09,580 rise up to address these challenges head-on. 779 00:33:09,580 --> 00:33:11,410 So at this point, we’d like to remind you 780 00:33:11,410 --> 00:33:13,440 that Trouble is intended to be watched in groups, 781 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:14,860 and to be used as a resource 782 00:33:14,860 --> 00:33:17,320 to promote discussion and collective organizing. 783 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:19,120 Are you a student that's interested in carrying out 784 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:21,190 revolutionary anti-capitalist organizing 785 00:33:21,190 --> 00:33:23,130 on your university or college campus, 786 00:33:23,130 --> 00:33:24,360 or even in your high school? 787 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:26,190 Consider getting together with some comrades, 788 00:33:26,190 --> 00:33:27,960 organizing a screening of this film, 789 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,560 and discussing a strategy for where you might get started. 790 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:32,830 Interested in running regular screenings of Trouble 791 00:33:32,830 --> 00:33:35,190 at your campus, infoshop, community center, 792 00:33:35,190 --> 00:33:36,760 or even just at home with friends? 793 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:38,020 Become a Trouble-Maker! 794 00:33:38,020 --> 00:33:39,400 For 10 bucks a month, 795 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:41,360 we’ll hook you up with an advanced copy of the show, 796 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:43,730 and a screening kit featuring additional resources 797 00:33:43,730 --> 00:33:46,160 and some questions you can use to get a discussion going. 798 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:49,000 If you can’t afford to support us financially, no worries! 799 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:50,440 You can stream and/or download 800 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:52,390 all our content for free off our website: 801 00:33:54,450 --> 00:33:56,680 If you’ve got any suggestions for show topics, 802 00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:58,380 or just want to get in touch, 803 00:33:58,380 --> 00:34:01,640 drop us a line at trouble@sub.media. 804 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:02,640 We're stoked to announce 805 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:03,870 that we reached our fundraising goals 806 00:34:03,870 --> 00:34:05,040 for the upcoming year, 807 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:07,520 meaning that we've been able to grow the subMedia team. 808 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:08,510 The next couple of months 809 00:34:08,510 --> 00:34:10,040 will be a bit of an adjustment period, 810 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:11,240 but you can all look forward 811 00:34:11,240 --> 00:34:13,250 to Stim's return with a brand new show 812 00:34:13,250 --> 00:34:15,360 sometime in the not-too-distant future, 813 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:17,550 as well as an increased output of videos 814 00:34:17,550 --> 00:34:19,440 throughout 2018 and beyond. 815 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:21,000 We're really excited about it, 816 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:22,110 and wanna give a big shout-out 817 00:34:22,110 --> 00:34:24,080 to all those who kicked in to make it possible. 818 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:26,269 Stay tuned for part two of this series next month, 819 00:34:26,269 --> 00:34:28,179 as we take a closer look at another batch 820 00:34:28,179 --> 00:34:29,679 of student movements from around the globe. 821 00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:31,600 This episode would not have been possible 822 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:34,280 without the generous support of Josh and Christian. 823 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:36,360 Now get out there... and make some trouble!