The Electoral Service (Servel) turned to the Ministry of the Interior to stop a cut of nearly 12% of the funding it requested for 2027, according to BioBioChile. The agency's governing board met with Minister Claudio Alvarado on October 13 after its attempts to meet with the Finance Ministry failed.
Servel is the autonomous agency that organizes elections in Chile and oversees party and campaign financing. It has had constitutional autonomy since 2015, precisely to keep those duties apart from partisan disputes.
The conflict pits the service against the Ministry of Finance, headed by Jorge Quiroz. Beyond the amount, Servel also alleges changes to its budget structure. According to the agency, those changes would subject some of its decisions to controls incompatible with its autonomy.
Servel President Pamela Figueroa called the situation unprecedented. She told BioBioChile that budget disagreements had historically been resolved through technical discussions with the Finance Ministry before the bill reached Congress.
This year was different. They were first notified of a 15% reduction, without a prior meeting with the minister or the budget director. "We had never faced a situation like this as an institution," Figueroa said. Asked whether the Finance Ministry explained why they had been unable to speak with Quiroz, she replied: "No, no explanation was given to us."
Faced with that impasse, the governing board approached Alvarado, who is also the government spokesperson. According to Figueroa, the minister heard their concerns and promised to explore "all possible solutions."
The Interior Ministry told BioBioChile that the role of the government's chief political official is to listen to an autonomous service such as Servel and keep communication channels open. However, it did not specify whether Alvarado would approach the Finance Ministry or whether the executive branch would amend its proposal. The Finance Ministry did not respond to the outlet's questions.
Servel's main concern is the electoral processes in 2028 and 2029. The disputed funding pays for the technology system that transmits results and the specialized staff who operate it. These areas require planning, testing and preparation years in advance.
"The cut affects the data transmission ecosystem and specialized staff," Figueroa warned. The Servel president described it as a high risk to the legitimacy of the electoral process and, therefore, the democratic process. For citizens, that system ensures reliable results are available within hours of polling stations closing.
The dispute reached Congress. The Fourth Joint Budget Subcommittee rejected Servel's budget allocation, leaving a possible amendment to the executive branch's proposal pending.
The governing coalition defends the adjustment. National Renewal Deputy Francisco Orrego, a member of the Finance Committee, said that "the fiscal responsibility led by President Kast's government cannot have exceptions." He added that the measure seeks to ensure that "every peso belonging to Chileans is spent efficiently" and said electoral processes would remain guaranteed.
On the opposing side, Party of the People Deputy Juan Marcelo Valenzuela, a member of the Fourth Joint Subcommittee, asked the executive branch to reconsider the reduction. According to the legislator, there are critical areas where the government cannot skimp on spending.
For now, Servel has yet to meet with Quiroz or the Budget Directorate. The rejected allocation will have to be discussed again as the 2027 Budget moves through Congress.
