Challenging existing power structures
Based on interviews with the protagonists of the Maple Spring student movement, this text seeks to identify the conditions that allowed for the emergence of a student and social movement of unprecedented scale in spring 2012. A deliberate focus on combative unionism and direct democracy are seen as key factors in the consolidation and persistence of the movement. Further, the demands for social change made by this movement are situated in the context of the institutional impasse or deadlock that characterizes Quebec society under the reign of neoliberalism, and that has the effect of neutralizing any attempts to realize institutional reforms that aim to advance social justice.