The most important Chilean news of the day, in summary.
Weather preparations dominated the day in Chile. The government declared a preventive climate emergency between Coquimbo and the Biobío, the Ministerio de Salud issued a health alert for the Región Metropolitana, and Santiago set up emergency points ahead of a frontal system. Public debate also covered pension funds, with a proposed new AFP withdrawal and criticism of losses in fund E. President José Antonio Kast's visit to Bolivia drew cross-party backing in the Chamber, while prison policy, mobile phone pricing and football elections also made news.
President José Antonio Kast announced on X a Preventive Climate Emergency between the Coquimbo and Biobío regions, in force from October 18 to 23. He cited technical reports from Senapred, the disaster response agency, and weather forecasts. The risks include intense rain, hail and landslides.
Franco Parisi, leader of the Partido de la Gente (PDG), told T13 that a new withdrawal from the AFP, the private pension fund managers, would target people out of work for more than nine months. They could take up to two or three monthly minimum wages. The PDG has not filed a bill and is studying three alternatives.
Members of the Chamber's Foreign Affairs Committee backed President José Antonio Kast's visit to Bolivia across party lines, Emol reported. Several said Bolivia's maritime claim has no place in bilateral talks. Kast is the first Chilean president to visit Bolivia in 71 years, since Carlos Ibáñez del Campo in 1955.
Peru's president, Keiko Fujimori, will travel to El Salvador from October 28 to 31, BioBioChile reported. She will meet President Nayib Bukele and visit the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a maximum-security prison. Chile's president, José Antonio Kast, met Bukele in January 2026 and praised his government.
Catalina San Martín, mayor of Las Condes, told La Tercera that the State is not prepared for a catastrophe such as a mudslide, after the one that hit the district on October 8. She praised the speed of the initial response, with a local emergency and a catastrophe zone decreed the same day.
Security Minister Martín Arrau is preparing a communications, legislative and management push on the prison crisis, La Tercera reported. The plan includes fast construction of modular prisons and a reform of Gendarmería, the prison service. It follows the failure of the constitutional reform backed by the government of José Antonio Kast.
The Orfeón de Carabineros, the police band, played "Dynamite" by South Korean group BTS in the Plaza de la Constitución, in front of the Palacio de La Moneda, ADN Radio reported. It happened on Friday, October 16, after the changing of the guard, during the group's visit to Chile.
Chile's mobile companies reduced average discounts from 35% to 11% in a year, La Tercera reported, citing an analysis Entel presented to investors. Movistar and Wom removed them entirely, and three of the four large operators now offer only three plans.
Deputy Héctor Ulloa, of the PPD, called it "aberrant" that the AFP try to normalize losses near 10% in fund E, Cooperativa reported. With Deputy Jaime Araya, he will push for a special investigative committee in the Chamber. Fund E is the most conservative of the five pension fund types.
Aníbal Mosa of Blanco y Negro, the Colo Colo concessionaire, and César Villegas of Deportes Limache agreed to vote together in the coming Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP) elections, La Tercera reported. They say 10 other clubs support the move, and they cite a lack of transparency.
The Municipalidad de Santiago activated a preventive plan with emergency equipment in four sectors. A frontal system begins Sunday, October 18, and peaks on the afternoon and night of Tuesday, October 20. The Dirección Meteorológica de Chile issued an alert for 15 to 25 millimeters of rain in the Región Metropolitana.
The Ministerio de Salud (Minsal) declared a Health Alert for the whole Región Metropolitana on Saturday, October 17, valid for 45 days. It aims to strengthen the health system's response to possible mudslides from expected rain, CNN Chile reported. The decree was published in the Diario Oficial.
