From Free Bus Fare to Legal Abortion: Politics in Secondary Schools in Democratic Argentina (1983-2018)

MARINA LARRONDO; PEDRO NUÑEZ

When Students protest. Secondary and High Schools

Rowman and Littlefield

Lugar: Lanham-Maryland; Año: 2021; p. 55 - 71

The following chapter analyzes the trajectory of the secondary school student movement in Argentina from 1983 to 2018?a time span that has not only allowed us to identify the changes and continuities in the practice of politics in secondary schools, but also the demands made by student activist groups and the repertoire of collective action during three distinct historical periods: 1993-1990, 1990- 2001 and 2010-2018. We pay attention to the socio-historical context, the education system and the various shapes the student movements took as they engaged in political mobilization. We describe and analyze the political participation of students in Argentinian schools and the changes to the organization of the student movement throughout the years of democracy. Thus, we can show that Secondary school students were able to expand their autonomy, showing their capability to install their owns identities, demands and claims in the public sphere. These findings also provide insight into how activism acquired new senses over time. The results were obtained from different credited investigation projects. The methodological approach is qualitative and it included documental analysis (mainly written press and political publications) and interviews to activists and former activists in schools, political parties, school principals and teachers.