President José Antonio Kast held a meeting with ruling party leaders at La Moneda after the setback in the vote on the reconstruction mega-reform. The gathering, the second coordination effort since June, aimed to address miscoordination and demands for resources.
On Wednesday, Senator Gustavo Sanhueza of the UDI voted against the final pending article of the mega-reform, which established compensations to municipalities for lower property tax revenue. Senator Enrique Van Rysselberghe was also absent for personal reasons, while senators from Coquimbo requested fresh resources for areas affected by the storm.
Ministers Jorge Quiroz, Claudio Alvarado and José García Ruminot asked to postpone the vote until August. The government is now considering rejecting that section of the bill without affecting the rest of the project.
Kast, together with Alvarado and García Ruminot, met on Thursday with senators Arturo Squella, Andrea Balladares and Luciano Cruz-Coke, plus deputy Guillermo Ramírez. Senator Balladares said she hopes to strengthen coordination to address challenges in security, growth and employment.