The government of President José Antonio Kast will continue the Buen Vivir Plan, the program Gabriel Boric launched in 2022 for the Southern Macrozone. The 2027 Budget allocates $1,082,191,000 to it, the same amount it received this year.
According to La Tercera, the initiative will keep its name and expand its scope. Until now, it mainly funded roads and drinking water infrastructure. From 2027, it will also include health, education and housing projects.
The plan operates in the Biobío, La Araucanía, Los Ríos and Los Lagos regions. It focuses on rural areas and Mapuche communities. The previous government defined it as "a comprehensive presidential strategy" to redirect state action in the south.
Former Interior Minister Izkia Siches announced it on May 17, 2022, just over two months after Boric took office. That announcement followed a difficult episode for Siches: she was attacked while attempting to enter the community of Temucuicui, in La Araucanía.
Interior Undersecretary Máximo Pavez confirmed that it would continue. "The Plan is a pillar we want to maintain and strengthen," he told La Tercera. He added that the regions covered "have historically been neglected" in investment in infrastructure and drinking water.
For the new phase, Pavez proposed that the Interior Undersecretariat coordinate the Ministries of Public Works, Education, Health and Housing. According to him, working with the presidential delegates in each region is essential.
The decision contrasts with what has happened in other government departments inherited from the previous administration, according to La Tercera. Sources cited by the newspaper maintain that the plan has received positive evaluations. However, the current administration identified administrative concerns, particularly about the traceability of work in the field, and is seeking to address them through internal systems.
Responsibility for the program changed several times. It was first transferred to the Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency, then headed by Ana Lya Uriarte. In September 2023, the government convened an interministerial cabinet to strengthen it. In June 2025, with Carolina Tohá as minister, it returned to the Interior Ministry.
During his term, Boric expressed his wish for the plan to become "a lasting state policy," regardless of who was seen as its creator. The new government's decision points in that direction, although the sources do not specify how many projects in each new area will be funded.
The plan currently falls under the Interior Ministry's new Department of Indigenous Affairs, headed by lawyer Hans Weber, and has regional officials who coordinate rural work. Its budget for 2027 remains subject to the passage of the Budget Law through Congress.
