Students and union members marched in Santiago on October 1 to oppose possible education spending cuts in the proposed 2027 budget. Detailed education allocations remained unpublished, though. President José Antonio Kast presented the bill, and lawmakers can still shift money within it before passage.
The budget dispute
The Confederation of Students of Chile (Confech), which brings together university student unions, called the national strike. Chile’s largest union federation, the CUT, and the Colegio de Profesores teachers’ union joined the march under the slogan “Not one peso less for education.” Student leaders warned of possible cuts, but available sources hadn't published detailed education allocations.
The budget bill would raise total public spending 1.5%. Health Minister May Chomali said her ministry’s budget would grow 4.7%, more than three times the overall increase. Those figures describe proposed public spending, while the education lines at issue remain unclear.
The march set off around 10:30 a.m. from Plaza Baquedano, with permission from the regional government delegation. Clashes broke out near the Catholic University, just metres from the starting point. Carabineros, Chile’s national police, used water cannon and tear gas.
BioBioChile reported at least 12 arrests, a preliminary figure police hadn't confirmed. Most marchers continued west toward La Moneda, the presidential palace. Metro reopened its closed station at 12:32 p.m. Officials hadn't published the final arrest count.
Health funding dispute
The student march came after primary health workers held a 48-hour national strike over clinic funding. Both the health workers’ dispute and the education protest opposed the same budget bill. Confusam, the confederation of municipal health workers, held its strike on September 29 and 30.
The disagreement centres on the “per capita” payment the state sends municipalities for each patient enrolled at their clinics. Radio Universidad de Chile reported the current monthly rate as 11,932 pesos, about US$12.34. Confusam sought at least 16,000 pesos, about US$16.55.
The Finance Ministry offered an increase of 604 pesos, about US$0.62. The union wanted at least 1,000 pesos, about US$1.03. Confusam said municipalities were owed more than 37 billion pesos, about US$38 million, dating from December 2025.
Confusam welcomed Decree 29, which updates the 2026 rate to settle the arrears, but said it wasn't a structural fix. Confusam president Gabriela Flores claimed 90% adherence nationwide. Puranoticia reported that the Health Ministry counted 31.1% of staff on strike and 69.3% of facilities affected.
Public services and next steps
The Health Ministry said emergency rotas covered all prioritised care and noted that 80% of Chileans use primary care. A joint working group on clinic funding was due to meet again on September 30.
Confusam said it would stay “on alert” as Congress debated the bill. The 604-peso offer might not be final: lawmakers can still shift money within the bill before passage. Whether protests will continue remains unclear, as do the detailed education spending changes.