The president of Chile, José Antonio Kast, presented this Wednesday the guidelines of the 2027 Budget Bill, which provides for a 1.5% increase in public spending and concentrates resources on public works, employment, security, education, health, and reconstruction. The president stated that initial projections placed the spending increase between 0% and 1%. "We decided to make an additional half-point effort to accelerate reactivation, investment, and work," he said.
"The 2027 Budget grows by 1.5% compared to this year and, at the same time, fulfills our fiscal commitment," Kast stated in a national address from Cerro Castillo Palace in Viña del Mar.
Kast set reconstruction, security, and the protection of children as priorities, though he indicated that education and health account for the largest allocations. The education budget will reach 17.3 trillion pesos, equivalent to USD 17,777 million, and will grow by 4.7%. "Education is one of the largest investments in this budget, 17.3 trillion pesos (17,777 million dollars), the second largest in the State and surpassed only by health," the president indicated, adding: "It is not just about allocating more resources, but about ensuring those resources translate into timely care."
The head of State noted that more than 600 out of every 1,000 pesos of state spending will go to pensions, health, and education. "That is the part that this budget protects…
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José Antonio Kast, speaking in a national broadcast, at the La Moneda palace, in Santiago (Chile) (EFE/ Presidency of Chile)
The president of Chile, José Antonio Kast, presented this Wednesday the guidelines of the 2027 Budget Law project, which foresees a 1.5% increase in public spending and concentrates resources on public works, employment, security, education, health and reconstruction. The president stated that initial projections placed the spending increase between 0% and 1%. "We decided to make an additional half-point effort to accelerate reactivation, investment and work," he said.
"The 2027 Budget grows 1.5% compared to this year and, at the same time, fulfills our fiscal commitment," Kast said in a national broadcast from the Cerro Castillo Palace, in Viña del Mar. Kast set reconstruction, security and the protection of children as priorities, although he indicated that education and health concentrate the largest allocations. The education budget will reach 17.3 trillion pesos, equivalent to USD 17,777 million, and will grow 4.7%. "Education is one of the largest investments in this budget, 17.3 trillion pesos (17,777 million dollars), the second largest in the State and only surpassed by health," the president indicated, adding: "It is not just about putting in more resources, but about those resources becoming timely care."
Kast announced that the Migration Service will increase its budget by one third to finance the expulsion of people who do not have the right to remain in Chile (Archive)
The head of State pointed out that more than 600 out of every 1,000 pesos of state spending will go to pensions, health and education. "That is the part that this budget protects," he said, referring to the resources allocated to those areas. The Executive also announced an extraordinary portfolio of 241 public works in all regions of the country. Kast stated that the projects will seek to create jobs and will be carried out with local labor. "These are conservation works built with labor from the area," he said. Regarding this area, he noted that there are 980,000 people in Chile looking for work without finding it, and confirmed the continuation of a plan announced on Monday to create more than 100,000 jobs.
The Government will also incorporate resources for the National Reconstruction and Economic and Social Development Law, an initiative intended to serve areas affected by catastrophes, fires and storms. In terms of security, the project contemplates 7 trillion pesos, equivalent to USD 7,224 million, a 9.1% increase over this year. The president indicated that these funds will be allocated to officers deployed on the streets, border controls and prison security.
Kast announced that the Migration Service will increase its budget by one third to finance the expulsion of people who do not have the right to remain in Chile. He also reported the launch of the new Supraterritorial Prosecutor's Office, aimed at investigating criminal organizations operating in several regions. The allocation for children will increase by 4.1%, while the Universal Guaranteed Pension will reach more than 2.2 million elderly people. The project entered Congress on Wednesday, where deputies and senators will have 60 days to review and discuss the allocations proposed for 2027.
Members of the Chilean legislative body participate in a session (Archive)
"Congress is capable of reaching agreements. I ask that the debate be demanding, but that it not be from a trench. The urgencies of Chileans, the urgency of living better again, have no political color," Kast said.
Chile's public spending on education, from primary to tertiary level, increased from 4% to 4.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) between 2015 and 2023, while the average of the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) decreased from 4.4% to 4.2% during the same period. Early childhood education shows a gap compared to the bloc's average. In 2024, 79% of Chilean children between three and six years old were enrolled, compared to the 90% recorded across the OECD. The difference also appears in the training of the adult population. In 2024, 37% of adults in Chile had tertiary education, six percentage points below the 43% average among the organization's members. In the opposite direction, 42% of Chilean adults had upper secondary education or non-tertiary post-secondary studies, a proportion higher than the OECD average.
(With information from EFE)