Chilean student activists to visit and speak at FIU

Photo by Francisco Osorio, via flickr

Diego Saldaña-Rojas/Staff Writer 

Two Chilean student activists will be speaking to University students today from 4-6pm in room 314 of the Graham Center.

The event titled “Struggling to Win: Chilean Activists at FIU” is being hosted by the Florida Student Union in collaboration with Students Working for Equal Rights.

Gabriel Gac and Pablo Abufom are the two activists who will hosting the lecture. Gac has been an active member of the Libertarian Student Front (Frente de Estudiantes Libertarios).  In 2013 he also helped coordinate the formation of a new Anarchist Feminist movement, The Alazada, Feminist Libertarian Action (La Alazada, Acción Feminista Libertaria) in Chile. Abufom has a Masters of Philosophy and works on translating mostly academic works from English to Spanish. He is also a founding member of the bookstore and social center Librería Proyección in Santiago, Chile.

“This relates to students who are trying to organize other students and build popular power.

Any student who is interested in getting anything done in the school system could benefit from this…anyone interested in activism and building student power,” said Claudio Galaz, a junior history major who also aided in organizing the event.

Both organizations aim to reach out to other students who are interested in enacting change in the University.

“Their student movement is really inspiring,” said Gordon Kingston a sophomore history major.

According to Kingston the activists sought to improve access to highly privatized education in Chile. Pablo and Gac also hope to gain an understanding of how students in the US organize. The visit is part of a speaking tour which will stop in 15 other US cities.

Galaz hopes the event will inspire other University students to let their voices be heard and to let them understand the power they wield in enacting change.

“Hopefully students get together and regain autonomy,” said Galaz.

diego.saldana@fiusm.com