All public educational institutions in the Chilean commune of Santiago Centro will reopen after accepting the municipality's offer to pay the outstanding winter and summer bonuses.

Santiago de Chile.- On Wednesday, March 5, the day of the beginning of the 2025 school year, the Teachers’ Association called a teachers’ strike due to the refusal of the local mayor, Mario Desbordes, to enforce this labor right, which won more than 20 years ago.

After several days of negotiations, Desbordes agreed to make the payment without the usual adjustment for inflation, a proposal that the teachers partially accepted.

The capital commune, which ended the conflict, informed that 26 of the 40 schools on strike decided to start classes before, and the rest will do so this Tuesday.

In Chile, municipalities have been in charge of school administration since 1980, when the regime of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) relieved the central government of this obligation.

The measure resulted in fragmentation and reduction of the quality of education. It favored the entry of the private sector, especially in the communes with greater resources. (PL)