Karol Cariola is a Chilean graduate in obstetrics

Obstetrics

Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...

, and the former president of the Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de Concepción (University of Concepción Student Federation

University of Concepción Student Federation

The University of Concepción Student Federation , is the student body at the University of Concepción, which groups all undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Concepción in Chile...

). She was elected General Secretary

General Secretary

The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...

 of the Juventudes Comunistas de Chile, abbr. JJ.CC, (the youth wing of the Communist Party of Chile

Communist Party of Chile

The Communist Party of Chile is a Chilean political party inspired by the thoughts of Karl Marx and Lenin. It was founded in 1922, as the continuation of the Socialist Workers Party, and in 1934 it established its youth wing, the Communist Youth of Chile .In the last legislative elections in Chile...

) at the organizations XIII Congreso held in October 2011.

Cariola is the second woman to hold this post in the Communist Youth of Chile after the late communist leader Gladys Marin

Gladys Marín

Gladys del Carmen Marín Millie was a Chilean activist and political figure. She was Secretary-General of the Communist Party of Chile and then president of the PCCh until her death...

.
Cariola was elected as General Secretary of the JJ.CC. in the middle of one of the most significant mass social movilization in recent Chilean history – termed by the media as the Chilean Winter

2011 Chilean protests

The 2011 Chilean protests,Chilean Winter or Chilean Education Conflict are a series of ongoing student-led protests across Chile, demanding a new framework for education in Chile, including more direct state participation in secondary education and an end to the existence of profit...

. This movilization has seen students across Chile refuse to return to school or university and demand an end to the privatized education model. Cariola has stated that the student mobilization, protests and strikes have a political nature and she has refuted the statement made by the Chilean government

Sebastián Piñera

Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean businessman and politician. He was elected President of Chile in January 2010, taking office in March 2010.- Education :...

 spokesperson Andrés Chadwick

Andrés Chadwick

Andrés Pío Bernardino Chadwick Piñera is a Chilean right-winged politician and lawyer, member of the Independent Democrat Union party. Chadwick was elected deputy for the District #33 in 1989, and was re-elected in 1993...

 that the CONFECH (Chile’s Confederation of Student Unions) has been taken over by extremist elements.

In an interview with CNN Chile

CNN Chile

CNN Chile is a Chilean 24-hour television news channel launched on December 4, 2008. It is a joint venture between VTR Chile, a Liberty Global subsidiary, and Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner...

Cariola stated that it was a grave mistake to refer to the student movement in that manner:

“I think our country is at an historic moment, that it is necessary to generate structural changes….We have had a process that has led this country to develop a new consciousness. Chile today is not the same that it was 6 months ago, there is an eagerness to generate changes and the need to do so.”