Students protest education and school meal budget cuts, rising cost of living, and tougher repressive practices.
On Thursday, thousands of secondary and university students marched through downtown Santiago in protest against the economic and repressive agenda of far-right President Jose Antonio Kast.
RELATED:
Chilean Students Call Protest Against Kast Government
Called by the Coordinating Assembly of Secondary Students (ACES), the day of protests denounced budget cuts to education and school meals, the rising cost of living, and tougher repressive practices.
The mobilization, which had one of its epicenters near Baquedano Metro station, an iconic gathering point during the 2019 social uprising, coincided with the start of the fifth edition of the Madrid Forum, the international far-right summit being held in Santiago, Chile.
On Sept. 3 and 4, the forum, founded in 2020 by Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain’s Vox party, will be attended by Argentine President Javier Milei, U.S. Undersecretary Sarah Rogers, Heritage Foundation Director Kevin Roberts, European Parliament member Kinga Gal, among other conservative figures.
UNA MAÑANA HISTORICA
Pese a la brutal Represión, decenas de miles de Estudiantes Antifascistas marcharón por la Alameda en repudio al Gobierno de José Antonio Kast y la Realización del Foro de Madrid en Santiago.
— El Hilo Chileno (@ElHiloCL) September 3, 2026
The text reads, “A historic morning. Despite the brutal repression, tens of thousands of anti-fascist students marched down Alameda Avenue in protest against the administration of Jose Antonio Kast and the holding of the Madrid Forum in Santiago. These were real people, not Cerimedo’s bots or the bots from India. At 7:00 PM there will be a second gathering at Baquedano Metro station to condemn the Madrid Forum.”
“Those who come to promote hatred and denialism are not welcome in a land that knows the pain and cost of losing democracy,” said Esteban Navarro, regional political secretary of the Communist Party of Chile.
Prior to today’s mobilization, students also held marches on April 29 and May 14 to protest the suspension of programs run by the National Board of School Aid and Scholarships (Junaeb).
Student organizations criticize government initiatives such as the “Protected Schools” project and attempts to introduce constitutional reforms under a “State of Exception,” arguing that they seek to criminalize social protest and establish control mechanisms.
Siguen las manifestaciones de estudiantes en el centro de Santiago por la defensa de la educación pública. Fuerte represión y numerosos detenidos. pic.twitter.com/GhgDfNc5jx
— Pedro Abarca Castro (@PedroAbarcaPRO) September 3, 2026
The text reads, “Student protests continue in downtown Santiago in defense of public education. There has been heavy repression and numerous arrests.”
These concerns have been compounded by recent police abuses, such as the mistreatment reported by students in Quellon, where they were forced to strip naked by Carabineros, and the killing of rapper Vegetal by police officers on Aug. 17.
Faced with this situation, youth leaders called for assemblies to be held at all high schools and universities to lay the groundwork for a possible National Strike. The protests also coincided with institutional and judicial developments concerning disinformation strategies linked to the Kast administration.
On Wednesday, the Chilean Congress approved the creation of an investigative commission that will have 60 days to examine the use of networks of automated accounts, or bots, and digital interventions in political campaigns since 2020.
The measure follows the expansion of a complaint filed with the Valparaiso Prosecutor’s Office by lawmaker Juan Santana (PS), which targets the operations in the country of Argentine consultant Fernando Cerimedo, who is currently in pretrial detention in Bolivia in cases linked to bot farms.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: Europa Press – teleSUR
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.