You can´t always get what you want: the outcomes and effects of student power in Argentina and Chile

• In Event: Social movements’ outcomes and protests analysis

Abstract

This paper provides a comparative analysis of student movements during the last decades (1997-2011) in Argentina and Chile to analyze and evaluate the relative outcomes of student protests in the region. It looks at this question by analyzing the characteristics of contentious events and their impact on three outside forces that serve as proxies to analyze their relative leverage: a) how visible the protest events are to the public opinion and whether they are considered legitimate interlocutors; b) whether there is police presence and police action at the event and the nature of their action; c) and whether their protests have positive outcomes. More specifically, the paper seeks to analyze the effects that the alliance systems, the type of demand and the selection of tactics have upon student´s capacity to exercise power to achieve what they want. While the paper supports previous research that asserts that there are less tangible outcomes of protests that cannot be easily quantified and measured, it builds upon indicators that shed light on elements that impact student´s capacity to make claims- and have them met- by powerful opponents. Through the analysis of different statistical models and in-depth interviews to student leaders, this paper presents and examines some clues around where lye the sources of student and, more generally, social movement power. The paper underscores the importance of social and historical context for understanding protest outcomes.

Author

• Gabriela M Gonzalez Vaillant, UCU Montevideo-State University of New York at Stony Brook