Educators International and the Confederation of American Educators-the two organizations to
which the majority of teachers in the Western world belong-met on October 14-16, 1995 in Buenos
Aires. The meeting, which was hosted by the Confederation of Educational Workers of the Argentine Republic (CTERA), was held to coincide
with the Ibero-American Summit in Bariloche. The
teachers’ objective was to voice their concern about
the crushing problems they face and the uncertain
future of education in the region. They issued a declaration that criticizes the short-
sightedness of neoliberal educational reforms, and
declares that education should be considered a
strategic investment in the future. The document
emphasizes that only the long-term policies of
democratic governments, hammered out with
broad-based civic participation, will guarantee qual-
ity education. The teachers also called for overcom-
ing the false contradiction between public educa-
tion and modernization. They did so by affirming
the four educational principles that underlie demo-
cratic modernization: education should be non-sec-
tarian, free, obligatory and integrating. These prin-
ciples, which have not been sufficiently adhered to
by modern education systems, are now under attack
by neoliberal policymakers.
According to the document, teachers want an
education system which:
“* is governed and managed with the participation
of teachers, and not left entirely in the hands of
bureaucrats and politicians
“* guarantees fair salaries and ongoing professional
training
“* answers the demands of all sectors of the popula-
tion and broadens economic investment
“* is multicultural and does not discriminate against
minorities
“* keeps study plans up-to-date, and regularly revises
the curricula
“* responds to the infrastructural needs of public
schools.
The teachers agreed that these educational
reforms will not be possible without the participa-
tion of the unions and associations that represent
educational workers. They demanded that collec-
tive bargaining be respected and that their unions
be given a role in the discussion of education poli-
cies. They criticized the coercive measures that have
been used to repress union activity, and govern-
ment interference intended to weaken and atomize
the union movement.
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