Four deputies from the People's Party (PDG) criticized the government for responding late to the debris flow that hit Las Condes, in the Metropolitan Region, according to BioBioChile. Fabián Ossandón, Flor Contreras, Tamara Ramírez and Lilian Betancurt called on the executive branch to review the state's capacity to anticipate emergencies of this kind.
The criticism centers on the Emergency Alert System (SAE), which sends mass notifications to mobile phones. The National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) explained that it did not send an alert because the event was sudden. It added that Chile currently lacks instrument-based monitoring of mass movements that would allow these phenomena to be anticipated.
Hours after the debris flow, the government declared the municipality a disaster zone. That timeframe opened a second front of criticism from the party's deputies.
Ossandón, deputy for Antofagasta's District 3, alleged territorial disparities in the state's response. "In August, our Antofagasta region suffered severe debris flows, and the declaration of a disaster-affected zone took days, but in Las Condes it took only hours," he said. He also said the government was improvising in response to climate change, despite a Yellow Alert being in effect.
Flor Contreras, a member of the Chamber's Emergency, Disasters and Firefighters Committee, described the sudden-event explanation as an unacceptable lack of foresight. Tamara Ramírez, of the Environment Committee, spoke of a double standard: according to her, a disaster zone was declared in the eastern sector on the same day, while the north waited four days. Ramírez announced that she would demand immediate congressional scrutiny.
Betancurt, deputy for District 21 in the Biobío Region, submitted five official requests to national Senapred, Senapred Biobío, the National Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin), the Regional Directorate of Hydraulic Works and the Undersecretariat for the Environment. She asked who decided not to activate the SAE in Las Condes and whether defined alert polygons exist.
The lawmaker also requested the identification of ravines and slopes at risk of debris flows in Biobío municipalities damaged by wildfires. "Prevention has to work equally for a municipality in Santiago and a rural community in Bío Bío," she said.
The dispute intersects with the budget debate. According to Betancurt's official request, the 2026 Budget included a provision of up to $144.5 million to implement the Escazú Agreement, a regional treaty on access to information and environmental justice. The 2027 bill contains no identified allocation for that purpose.
In addition, the "Climate Change and Nationally Determined Contribution" budget line decreases by more than 50% in the 2027 bill, according to the same document. The agencies receiving the official requests must answer the deputy's questions while Congress considers the budget.
