Demonstrators clash with police in Santiago as they demand restored funding for public education in the 2027 budget.
University students clashed with police outside Chile’s Education Ministry in Santiago on Wednesday as they protested proposed funding cuts in the government’s 2027 budget, demanding guarantees for public education programs and the restoration of threatened resources.
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The demonstration, organized by the Confederation of Chilean Students (Confech) under the slogan “Not a peso less for education,” began peacefully before escalating into clashes with police, who fired tear gas to disperse protesters. The unrest forced the closure of Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins.
Confech spokesperson Laura Mlynarz delivered a letter to Education Minister María Paz Arzola, requesting a meeting and calling on the government to restore education funding in the 2027 Budget Bill presented by President José Antonio Kast’s administration.
Fuerzas policiales reprimen a miles de estudiantes que se movilizaron en varias ciudades chilenas en contra de los recortes a la educación y la rebaja de las penas a criminales de lesa humanidad y depredadores sexuales.
La movilización fue una convocatoria nacida desde la… pic.twitter.com/XRyvJ1xV5C
— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) November 7, 2026
Text Reads: Police forces crack down on thousands of students who mobilized in several Chilean cities against cuts to education and reduced sentences for crimes against humanity and sexual predators. The mobilization was called for by the Catholic University of Temuco (UCT) against the 2027 budget of José Antonio Kast’s government, which cuts funding for education and programs that sustain school support scholarships.
The students warned that proposed cuts and the discontinuation of existing programs threaten funding for public education and its development at every level.
Their concerns include funding for early childhood education, school infrastructure, public school development and Local Public Education Services. They also highlighted potential cuts to student benefits administered by Junaeb, ICT Scholarships and the Yo elijo mi PC program.
The letter also raises concerns about baseline funding for state universities and resources allocated to scientific research and development.
Confech expressed particular concern over the absence of clear guarantees that the threatened resources would be restored, despite the rejection of the relevant budget allocation in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday.
The students urged the executive branch to make a firm commitment to protecting education funding and called on the Education Ministry to actively defend public education before the National Congress. They stressed that education is a social right that should not be subject to budget adjustments that compromise its quality, accessibility or continuity.
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