Deputy Jaime Mulet, of the Federación Regionalista Verde Social (FRVS) representing Atacama, said the projections of Finance Minister (ministro de Hacienda) Jorge Quiroz "are not reliable". His criticism targets the borrowing authorization the Government included in the 2027 Ley de Presupuestos (Chile's annual Budget Law) bill.
According to El Mostrador, the bill seeks authorization to borrow up to US$25,600 million. It adds a state guarantee of US$500 million and a new authorization for the President to take on obligations of up to US$600 million. The structural deficit target is 1.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
"The 25,000 million dollars deeply surprised me," Mulet said on that outlet's program Al Pan Pan. The lawmaker said Quiroz has assured that public debt will not exceed 43.5% of GDP. However, he said he does not trust that figure because the Finance Ministry (Hacienda) has changed its growth projections several times.
Mulet also pointed to differences within the economic team itself. According to the deputy, the Budget Director cast doubt before Congress on whether debt can be kept within the limit projected by the Finance Ministry.
The deputy linked the projections to the tax cut in the Ley de Reconstrucción (Reconstruction Law). If the investment the minister expects materializes, the numbers could add up. But he warned that those assumptions "will not necessarily happen" and that the risk is that Quiroz "deepens the crisis". Even so, he added: "I hope he is right, I hope the country grows".
The criticism is not isolated. In an interview with Diario Financiero, Deputy Carlos Bianchi (independent, PPD), a member of the Comisión Especial Mixta de Presupuestos (the joint congressional budget committee), said the minister's lack of credibility is his main objection. He recalled that Quiroz assured the Finance Committee (Comisión de Hacienda) that the country would not take on debt.
Bianchi raised other concerns. He criticized the reduction in regional budgets, which in his view stalls projects and hurts local employment. He also rejected a cut to the Ley Ricarte Soto, which funds high-cost medical treatments. In addition, he estimated that debt would reach 44% of GDP and could exceed the 45% threshold.
His proposal is to postpone the reintegration and the tax cut for two years, without halting the full reform. That, he said, would avoid social spending cuts.
The political landscape favors the Executive. If Congress does not pass the budget within the legal deadline, the Government's original proposal takes effect. Bianchi acknowledges it: "We are going to argue, but Quiroz is going to come out with his bill approved, with more or fewer objections". The deputy also criticized the opposition for lacking leadership to organize the debate.
The discussion now continues in the Comisión Especial Mixta de Presupuestos, where the opposition will try to reverse the cuts to regions and to the Ley Ricarte Soto.
