Franco Parisi, leader of the Partido de la Gente (PDG, People's Party), laid out on Saturday how a new withdrawal from AFP funds (Chile's private pension fund administrators) would work. According to T13, where he gave the interview, the idea targets people who have been out of work for more than nine months, who could withdraw up to two or three monthly minimum wages.
The PDG has not yet introduced the bill. Parisi said his party will study three alternatives, and the first requires having paid pension contributions and having used up unemployment benefits. In his words, the withdrawal would be controlled and gradual, without causing inflation.
The second option he mentioned covers people with health problems, who could use the same mechanism. Parisi spoke of amounts no more than $400 millones, a figure he did not explain in the interview. He also gave no details on the third alternative.
It would be the first withdrawal since the covid-19 pandemic. The concern about inflation has a simple explanation: if many people get money at once and go out to spend it, prices tend to rise. That is why Parisi insisted the withdrawal be targeted, meaning limited to a narrow group of people.
The economist said he does not want withdrawals, but that people are desperate. He tied the proposal to the jobs crisis and predicted more layoffs in salmon farming due to rising ocean temperatures, which he blamed on what he called "Godzilla Niño", and in agriculture due to climate change.
He also called for freezing the wage increase that, according to him, is planned. He said 100 mil millones a year are paid in wages and that the increase would amount to US$8,500 millones, 25% of it borne by the State. "That's why they're not hiring," he said, and offered to talk with the minister through the PDG's deputies.
In the same interview, Parisi criticized President José Antonio Kast over the losses in pension funds. This week it was reported that those losses reach US$7,700 millones, from bets on US interest rates. Parisi, however, spoke of 11 mil millones of dollars, and said the country is taking on 25 mil millones in debt.
The idea is already splitting Congress. Three of the eight DC (Christian Democrat) deputies said they were open to a new withdrawal, and deputy Jaime Araya (PPD) also said he was open to voting for it. RN and the Republicans oppose it, warning that it would hurt future pensions. The PDG has not yet set a date to introduce the bill.
