LatinNews Daily - 30 April 2026

*Chile’s Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz has sought to defend the controversial budget cut decree which over the past week has been leaked in the press and generated widespread criticism against the government of President José Antonio Kast. Quiroz signed the decree on 24 April which outlines cuts totalling Cl$32.72bn (US$36m) to the social development ministry, reportedly affecting social programmes, including pension programmes, initiatives to provide families with childcare products, school meals and youth programmes, and support for indigenous communities. The finance minister yesterday insisted that social benefits such as the guaranteed universal pension (PGU) will not be touched, adding that “the only thing we are doing in all cases is seeking efficiency and also preventing… social fraud or bad spending”. The budget reduction plans have faced criticism not only from left-wing opposition parties, such as Frente Amplio (FA) and the Partido Comunista de Chile (PCCh), but also from right-of-centre parties within the governing coalition such as Renovación Nacional (RN).

End of preview - This article contains approximately 162 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial