Students across Chile protest criminalization of youth and education cuts

Chilean students staged nationwide protests on June 3, the largest since President José Antonio Kast took office, marching in Santiago, Valparaíso, Antofagasta, and Concepción. Police in Santiago used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters, resulting in 35 arrests and serious injuries, including a fourth-year University of Chile law student requiring emergency surgery for facial fractures. Over 25 student federations, led by CONFECH and the Coordinating Assembly of Secondary School Students (ACES), organized the demonstrations against Kast’s $6 billion public spending cuts, which threaten programs like school meals for 1.6 million students aged 6–19. The protests reflect growing opposition to Kast’s policies, including executive decrees targeting democratic rights and social conditions, framed as necessary to address an economic crisis. Kast’s government has pledged to cut $21 billion over four years, roughly 8% of GDP, while the president’s June 1 State of the Nation address linked education access to law-and-order rhetoric, stating that ‘no one who burns a bus deserves free education.’ Student groups, including the 2025-established ‘Metropolitan Region Secondary Schools Cordon,’ demanded an end to ‘punitive approaches’ and called for addressing structural issues like school dropout rates and violence. The Teachers Association supported the protests but did not call for strikes, while ACES accused the government of prioritizing ‘big business’ over students’ needs. Protesters carried banners reading ‘No to the mega-reform’ and ‘For an education system that serves the country and the vast majority,’ highlighting frustration with Kast’s policies and the legacy of his predecessor, Gabriel Boric, whose reforms failed to deliver on education promises.