Following a series of announcements by the Minister of Finance, Jorge Quiroz, regarding fuel prices, the opposition criticized the potential impact of these decisions on the population. Specifically, Quiroz announced on Monday evening a significant increase of $370 for gasoline and $580 for diesel, effective this Thursday. In response, he also detailed a series of mitigating measures. In this context, the president of the Socialist Party, Paulina Vodanovic, stated that she considers it "a serious mistake to suspend the Mepco, which is a mechanism designed precisely for this type of emergency." The senator from Maule explained that the executive's measures will lead to "a decrease in people's purchasing power and their quality of life. We believe that the government is making a mistake with this measure, and we will study what comes next in relation to the bill concerning certain subsidies." Along the same lines, the leader of the Communist Party, Lautaro Carmona, believes that the formula proposed by Quiroz will cause the effects of the crisis to fall "on the shoulders of workers and middle-class sectors." "Large industries and industrialists with exorbitant profits will be well protected. The burden is being shifted to those who are not responsible for this crisis," he added. "This will have a direct consequence on essential products, and consequently, it will affect the purchasing power that was gained through the increase in the minimum wage; we will be losing ground in terms of the minimum wage," he also detailed. The former senator Jaime Quintana, president of the Party for Democracy (PPD), also criticized the cost to low-income individuals. "The 'emergency' is being paid for by the middle class with announcements of fuel price increases, while large businesses are celebrating announcements of tax cuts. This is more than an emergency; it's an outrage," he stated. MARIO TELLEZ The (acting) president of the Christian Democrats, Óscar Ramírez, considered that "the increase in fuel prices is once again hitting families hard. In a government that has defined itself as being in a state of emergency, we are missing a clear and decisive response to contain its impact. The middle class cannot continue to absorb these costs alone." For her part, the president of the Broad Front, Constanza Martínez, compared the executive's decisions to those made regarding fuel prices during the administration of Gabriel Boric. "In 2022, we faced a crisis of equal magnitude: the price of oil soared to levels similar to those of today due to the war in Ukraine. What did the government of President Gabriel Boric do? It expanded the Mepco from $750 million to $3 billion and protected Chilean families. The result: a $400 per liter increase in gasoline was avoided. That is governing," she wrote on her X account. For Martínez, the Kast government "took the easiest path: passing the cost on to citizens. President Kast, instead of using the capabilities of the State to protect citizens, is creating the emergency and leaving the country at the mercy of the market and the consequences of a war initiated, in a completely irresponsible manner, by his reference: Donald Trump."