Overview
- The student march, which drew thousands Thursday in central Santiago, moved along Alameda toward the former Congress and later clashed with police near Plaza Baquedano.
- Carabineros crowd-control units used water cannon to clear groups that set up barricades and damaged the protective fencing around the Manuel Baquedano statue, prompting metro station closures and traffic detours.
- Organizers from ACES and Confech rallied under the banner “Contra el retroceso, marchamos,” rejecting a 3% cut to ministry spending, suspended overseas scholarships, possible limits to university tuition-free access, and steep fuel price hikes after subsidy cuts.
- Accounts of arrests diverged after the unrest, with some reports citing 14 people detained while other coverage noted that authorities had not issued an official tally.
- As the march passed La Moneda, Kast signed an Emergency Energy law and urged protesters not to disrupt the metro, marking the first major street test of his austerity program three weeks into his term.