The fiscal nacional (national prosecutor), Ángel Valencia, called the conditions that the 2027 Budget bill places on the Ministerio Público's (Chile's Public Prosecutor's Office) use of resources "extremely serious." He spoke on Wednesday before the Congress Budget Subcommittee, at the third session devoted to item 23, which covers the Fiscalía (Prosecutor's Office).
According to Emol, the bill submitted by the government of José Antonio Kast sets limits on spending such as overtime, travel allowances inside and outside Chile, training, and certain agreements and hiring. In some cases, the Fiscalía would have to request authorization from, or submit information to, the Dirección de Presupuestos (Dipres), the Ministerio de Hacienda (Finance Ministry) agency that manages public spending.
The most contested provision, as detailed by Ex-Ante, is point 11 of the item. It places conditions on the funds for the Equipos Contra el Crimen Organizado y Homicidios (ECOH, Organized Crime and Homicide Teams) and the Plan Foco, formerly Calles sin Violencia. That money must be itemized before it is spent, with Dipres approval, and the Fiscalía will have to send it monthly progress and spending reports. Personnel spending is capped at $10,136,698 thousand, with a maximum of 314 people on fee-based contracts.
"If the budget problem seems serious to me, this seems extremely serious," Valencia said. He added that one of the tools governments in the region most often use to interfere with autonomous prosecutors' offices is "budget control; budget punishment or budget reward."
The prosecutor gave a practical example. If he needs to send prosecutors to Colombia and is short of money, he would have to go to the Dipres to ask for permission. Think of it as having to explain to your boss how you will spend every peso of your travel allowance before a trip you are not allowed to talk about.
That is the legal problem he raised. In money laundering cases, before charges are formally filed, the Fiscalía is prohibited from even disclosing that an investigation exists. "How do I explain it to them if I am under legal confidentiality and the Dipres is not a party to the case?" he asked.
Valencia said he starts "from good faith" and understands that the government is seeking efficiency. But he noted that the Fiscalía spent 98% of its budget last year. "This is not a problem of out-of-control spending," he said. In his view, constitutional autonomy exists so that corruption can be investigated freely and so that no government can use the Ministerio Público against its opponents.
In figures, the bill allocates $336,312 million to the Ministerio Público. Sources differ on the change. Emol reports an increase of 13.9% from $295,375 million, with new resources for the Fiscalía Supraterritorial and the Plan Foco. Ex-Ante, citing Valencia's presentation, refers to a 4.5% increase over 2026.
In addition, the amount is $12,907 million less than what the Fiscalía requested, according to Ex-Ante. The shortfall hits the Ley de Fortalecimiento (Strengthening Law), which increases the number of prosecutors, and the Fiscalía Supraterritorial, created to pursue organized crime. The latter would receive $5,277 million, $2,010 million less than requested and $3,310 million below what was committed in the financial report for its law.
Hacienda attributed the largest cut, $1,734 million in personnel, to a difference of opinion over how gradually hiring should proceed. Valencia warned that "opening this window may later lead to consequences in the future that we probably do not want." The item is still under discussion in the subcommittee, and the sources do not report a response from the Dipres.
