In Santander the newly established Plataforma por la Enseñanza Pública de Cantabria held its first demonstration on Saturday, 5 September 2026. Several teachers’ unions (CCOO, UGT, ANPE and STEC), 15 parents’ associations (AMPA), as well as the Frente de Estudiantes marched from Río de la Pila, the headquarters of the Consejería de Educación, past the headquarters of the Gobierno de Cantabria and along Paseo de Pereda to Plaza de Correos. According to local media, the mobilisation passed off without incident and ended with the reading of a manifesto.
The organisers’ main demand is that public funds in Cantabria should no longer be diverted to private and publicly funded private schools. Their target is the regional minister responsible, Sergio Silva. Platform representatives criticised current policies for weakening public schools through staff cuts, closed classes and inadequate facilities. STEC representative Miluca Berberana called for an end to teacher cuts and for reliable provision for families who want their children to attend a school close to home. Speakers also called for fully free and inclusive education for all pupils in the Autonomous Community.
The demonstration follows the platform’s founding earlier in the week and announcements by the participating organisations at the end of August. The mobilisation was prompted by ongoing disputes over the distribution of resources in education and allegations that the regional administration favours private or publicly funded private providers at the expense of public schools. The unions CCOO, UGT, ANPE and STEC, along with Frente de Estudiantes, had repeatedly highlighted rising pressures and, in their view, inadequate investment.
There had been no official statements from the regional government about the rally by Saturday. In previous debates, officials have regularly cited budgetary constraints and necessary structural reforms. Regardless, the mobilisation that has now taken place underlines the political pressure on the Consejería de Educación: the platform is calling for urgent talks on staff planning, class sizes, infrastructure investment and transparency in the allocation of funding.
The details of the date, route and participants are consistent with local reports and statements from the organisations involved. Statements about aims and assessments are attributed to the organisers and supporting unions. What financial and organisational consequences the regional government will draw from this remains unclear.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).