The government proposed increasing the Ministry of National Defense's budget by 7.6% for 2027. The amount, included in the draft Budget Law, exceeds 2.6 trillion pesos. The increase contrasts with the cuts the executive branch proposes for higher education, culture, science and technology, and regional governments.
According to El Mostrador, the increase coincides with diplomatic tensions sparked by remarks from Argentina about Chilean sovereignty in the far south and the Strait of Magellan. Cooperativa reported the same figure and linked it to the debate over spending priorities and the international situation.
The Air Force would receive the largest increase, at 9.8%. It is followed by the Navy, at 5.3%, and the Army, at 3.4%. These funds cover pay, equipment, uniforms, barracks maintenance and operations.
For the ministry's administrative bodies, the picture changes. The Undersecretariat of Defense's budget would remain virtually unchanged. The Undersecretariat for the Armed Forces, by contrast, would see a reduction of around 11%.
Added to this is the Multi-Year Fund for Strategic Defense Capabilities, financed by the Public Treasury. For 2027, it would receive 588 million dollars, 22.4% more than in 2026. Projects include replacing F-5 aircraft, renewing the Bell UH-1H helicopter fleet and upgrading strategic air transport, which currently relies on Hercules aircraft.
Explanations come from both the governing coalition and the opposition. Socialist Deputy Raúl Leiva, a member of the Chamber of Deputies' Defense Committee, said the increase "responds to the need to address the Army's Four-Year Investment Plan," which has been repeatedly postponed. He also attributed it to geopolitical factors.
Speaking from the governing coalition, UDI Senator Javier Macaya, who represents O'Higgins, explained that a significant portion of the increase reflects a change in how operating expenses, such as fuel for the Armed Forces, are accounted for. He added that Chile is lagging in strategic capabilities. "In fact, I think we have fallen short," he said.
Macaya dismissed the idea that the increase stems from Chile's joining the Shield of the Americas, a coalition against organized crime and drug trafficking promoted by US President Donald Trump. In his view, it is a security cooperation initiative and "has nothing to do with a military procurement program."
Former Defense Minister Jaime Ravinet, who served in the governments of Ricardo Lagos and Sebastián Piñera, supported the increase. He acknowledged that it "seems excessive" compared with other budget allocations, but said it corrects omissions from 2024 and 2025. He accused former President Gabriel Boric of failing to supplement the multi-year fund established by the law that replaced the Reserved Copper Law, despite an approved base contribution of 488 million dollars.
Ravinet described the amount as modest compared with the commitments made by Javier Milei's government in Argentina and by Peru for their armed forces. The debate also comes amid the dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over hydrocarbons in the Falkland Islands, where a Chilean commercial vessel is expected to travel in late November or early December.
The Second Joint Budget Subcommittee will begin reviewing the Defense allocation on Tuesday the 20th.
