Chile's Ministry of Hacienda sent a decree to the Comptroller General to cut $17.581 million from the Transient Emergency Fund for reconstruction after the Viña del Mar fires. The cut equals 3.5% of the $502.069 million budgeted for this year. It is part of a larger $150.379 million reduction in public treasury spending.
On April 24, the Ministry of Hacienda submitted a decree to the Comptroller General of the Republic for $150.379 million cuts in the public treasury. The adjustments target two main programs: Complementary Operations by $92.082 million and Subsidies by $58.280 million.
The most notable cut affects the Transient Emergency Fund, established to cover costs from the February 2024 fires in the Valparaíso region, including Viña del Mar. The law allocated $502.069 million for this year, from which Hacienda proposes to reduce $17.581 million, or 3.5% of the total. Earlier, in January and February, $82.000 million was transferred to the ministries of Housing and Social Development for execution.
Other reductions include $490 million to the National Institute of Human Rights (3% of its annual budget), $262 million to the Council for Transparency, $213 million to Environmental Courts, and $155 million to the Children's Rights Ombudsman. Further cuts are $30 million to the Autonomous Fiscal Council and $600 million to the simplified refund program for exporters.
The decree also adjusts potentially already executed items, such as bonuses for polling station officials and permanent contributions to political parties.
