The protests, which began around May 2011, have become massive, sometimes violent, and in turn they have created a profound educational and political crisis in the nation. Thousands of students have marched, protested, stopped attending school, occupied schools, and some students have even decided to go on hunger strikes. At the present time, the students and the government have not come to an agreement, so the protests are continuing to happen and there is no sign that the protesters will stop any time soon, as both the government and the student leaders cannot seem to come to an agreement.

"Today the students of Chile mobilize! We want more financing for education, more democratization, no more debts, and an end to profit!"

"Strike and national mobilization May 12"

"There is no future without educational reform"

There are two kinds of students protesting, high school students and college students, although they are often joined by teachers, parents and other supporters. The reasons for their protests are several, and so are their demands, calling for a complete reform in the educational system rather than an improvement.

As the main student leader Camila Vallejo has said, "We don't want to improve the system, it has to be changed."

Although Chile is one of the most economically successful countries in Latin America, there is a high level of inequality, and this is actually the main cause for the students’ protests.