The most important Chilean news of the day, in summary.
Politics on the right dominated Saturday in Chile, as leaders of the UDI and Evópoli criticized Republican Party president Arturo Squella over his remarks about former justice minister Hernán Larraín. Cost-of-living worries ran through the economic news, from fuel and the dollar to food prices and climate. Santiago's transport system faced a bus operator's request for voluntary liquidation, the Army spoke about the Las Condes flood response, and sports brought a loss for Chile's Under-15 side and the death of a former Colo Colo executive.
Nicolás Román, of the business and economics faculty at Universidad de Los Andes, said Chile faces a chain of shocks that will keep pushing up the cost of living. He spoke on El Diario de Cooperativa in a week of another fuel price rise, the fifth in a row, which left diesel at historic parity with gasoline.
Guillermo Ramírez, president of the UDI and a deputy, called statements by Republican leader and senator Arturo Squella about former justice minister Hernán Larraín "injurious." The UDI joined an earlier rebuke from Evópoli. Ramírez defended Larraín over a statement on the 2022 sentence reduction law, saying "It is unacceptable."
María José Hoffmann, vice president of the Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI), accused senator Arturo Squella, president of the Partido Republicano, of causing "profound damage" to President José Antonio Kast's government. Writing on X, she called his message about Hernán Larraín "injurious and irresponsible" and described his conduct as "almost a pattern."
Arturo Squella, president of the Partido Republicano, and Luciano Cruz-Coke, president of Evópoli, exchanged sharp words on X on Friday. The dispute concerned reduced sentences for sexual offenses signed by the Ministerio de Justicia, the justice ministry, under President José Antonio Kast. It reopened tensions between Republicans and Chile Vamos, the traditional right-wing coalition.
The Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada (SHOA), the navy's hydrographic service, ruled out a tsunami threat to Chile's coast on Friday night after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Vanuatu. It said the quake did not meet the conditions to generate a tsunami. The disaster agency Senapred repeated the notice on social media.
The Municipalidad de Santiago will open 500 municipal security agent positions on Tuesday, October 27, at a job fair in front of the Palacio Consistorial on Plaza de Armas. Net pay is about $1,100,000. Contracts will start on a fee basis, with receipts rather than a standard employment contract, according to La Tercera.
Ricardo Weisselberger, a longtime Colo Colo executive, died at 77, ADN Radio reported on Saturday, October 24. No other outlet had confirmed it, and the cause was not given. He led the Comisión Fútbol, the club's sporting area, from 1990 to 1994, a period of success for the club.
Metropol Chile, owner of Buses Alfa and Buses Omega, filed a voluntary liquidation request in court on Friday, October 23. Both firms operate in Santiago's Red Movilidad system. The Directorio de Transporte Público Metropolitano (DTPM) said the concessionaire runs 52 routes with 741 buses, which the Transport Ministry plans to keep running.
General Sebastián García-Huidobro, commander of the Army garrison of the Región Metropolitana, said the Army has means able to respond to other emergencies. He has led the zone hit by the flood in Las Condes since October 8, when the government declared a disaster zone after a torrent came down Quebrada Honda in San Carlos de Apoquindo.
ADN Radio, citing the UN Environment Programme's 2026 Emissions Gap Report, said climate change could raise food prices in Chile. The report projects global warming of up to 2.8 °C this century, with more floods and wildfires. The manager of Cheaf Chile linked lost harvests to price rises, and the INE reports food 3.9% costlier in 2026.
Chile's Primera División has the lowest average player height among 50 national leagues analyzed by the CIES Football Observatory, at 177.9 centimeters, La Tercera reported. The Switzerland-based research center published the data after Chile's loss to the United States in the latest FIFA window. Deportes Limache, Palestino and Universidad de Concepción are among the six shortest clubs.
Chile's Under-15 national team lost 4-2 to Spain in its debut at the FIFA Under-15 World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan, BioBioChile reported. Aron Cornejo and Santiago Briceño scored to put Chile 2-0 ahead. Spain scored four times in the second half to win.
