Senator Yasna Provoste (DC) called on President José Antonio Kast's government to amend the 2027 Budget Bill. Her criticism focuses on the lack of measures to create jobs and a cut of more than $200 billion in regional investment.
According to El Mostrador, the senator for Atacama made the demand at the start of legislative debate on the budget, which exceeds US$90 billion. Provoste chairs the Fourth Joint Budget Subcommittee, one of the congressional bodies that reviews public spending allocations.
"This 2027 budget does not focus on job creation, so more public investment and faster implementation are needed to create new jobs," she said. She added that she would continue pressing this point during the weeks of legislative consideration.
The figure that most concerns the senator is the drop of more than 9% in funding for regional governments. "A drop of more than $200,000 million in regional investment only deepens the crisis facing the country's regions, where 6 regions have unemployment above 10%," she warned.
The executive branch justified the cut by citing regional governments' low budget execution. Provoste responded that this criterion is not applied to ministries that also face delays, such as Public Works (MOP), Health (Minsal) and Housing and Urban Development (Minvu). According to the senator, those ministries have stalled works and projects postponed until 2027.
She also maintained that some regional underspending stems from delays in making budget funds available and in ministerial agreements involving other institutions. In her view, cutting funding on that basis therefore penalizes areas that need projects to hire local workers.
The economic outlook weighs on the debate. According to Provoste, the Ministry of Finance now estimates growth of 0.7% for 2026, below the 1.8% it projected two months ago. The senator described a stagnant economy and noted that some analysts are already discussing a recession scenario.
She also pointed to public investment execution. As of August, only 28% had been executed, a figure the senator described as "concerning underspending." To address this, she proposed that the Budget Directorate (Dipres) provide monthly reports on all public investment, with a regional breakdown, so Congress can exercise oversight.
Provoste also questioned the government's political strategy. She recalled that the Ministry of Finance highlighted the economic performance of the 1990s and 2000s but, according to her, omitted that this success was based on broad political agreements rather than winning votes in the chamber by a single vote, as she alleges has happened in recent months.
The sources reviewed do not include a response from the government or the Ministry of Finance to the senator's arguments. Legislative consideration of the 2027 Budget will continue in the coming weeks in the joint subcommittees, where Provoste said she would continue pressing to redirect spending toward employment.
