The secretaries-general of the opposition parties met this Thursday at the headquarters of the Christian Democratic Party (DC) to agree on a common position on the 2027 Budget Law, according to BioBioChile. They identified health and education as priorities.
The meeting comes as Congress begins debating the first Budget of José Antonio Kast's government. The bill totals $91.18 trillion, represents real growth of 1.5% and includes a cut to the Ricarte Soto Law, which funds high-cost treatments.
On health, the leaders reviewed funding for programs and laws that provide patient care and guarantee services. They argued that health cannot be approached solely in terms of spending, but as a right the state must guarantee.
The secretary-general of the Communist Party (PC), Bárbara Figueroa, criticized the explanation offered by the minister responsible. "The cut to the Ricarte Soto Law has already been announced, and the minister's explanation, that these are not social benefits but laws, shows a failure to understand that what these laws do is guarantee rights," she said.
Education was the other red line. The opposition criticized funding reductions for various programs and cited the suspension of initiatives to narrow the digital divide among students as an example.
The vice president of the Socialist Party (PS), Arturo Barrios, warned of reduced funding for Bicentennial High Schools, public education and the school retention program. "In the Education budget allocation, the program to retain students in the education system has also been cut enormously," he said.
The parties also questioned the reduction in public investment with unemployment at 9.6%. They argued that the state should use its resources to advance projects and create jobs, and expressed reservations about possible adjustments in the public sector.
The government maintains that the bill prioritizes Health, Education and Labor. Economists such as Jorge Rodríguez, a researcher at the Center for Public Studies (CEP), have welcomed the restrained spending and the return to the fiscal target. BioBioChile's report does not include an official response to Thursday's criticism.
The opposition is not the only source of resistance. Regional governors rejected their budget allocation over cuts, and a joint subcommittee postponed that vote to open a dialogue with the executive branch.
The opposition parties said they would review each budget allocation before deciding how to vote in Congress.
