ALLENDE'S GRANDCHILDREN tells the story of the occupation of a Chilean vocational school by its students in the context of the Chilean education protests of 2011–12. At a time when the students feared a forcible evacuation by police, the filmmakers documented life at the Instituto Superior de Comercio Nr. 2 ("Insuco Dos"), and the motives of the young protesters: Along with their peers nationwide, they demanded the right to high-quality, free education. In Chile, public demand for free access to education first erupted in protests in 2006. The protests of 2011/12 were a second wave. Protesters regarded government spending on public schools and universities as inadequate, and demanded greater support for pupils and students from less privileged backgrounds. Around 100,000 Chileans took to the streets or participated in school occupations and hunger strikes. Observers described the movement as the largest since the end of Chile's military dictatorship in 1990. CONTINUED PROTESTS TO THE PRESENT DAY Over the course of 2012, the protests gradually subsided - only to erupt again in 2019/20. New social unrest broke out as recently as in June, 2026. It was directed against cuts in education, health, culture and science by a right of center government - and again led by students of schools and university.