Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz announced increases of $370 per liter in 93-octane gasoline and $580 in diesel, effective from Thursday, March 26, due to the international oil price surge from the Iran conflict. The government also activated palliative measures, including freezing Transantiago fares until year-end and subsidies for taxi drivers. Quiroz justified the moves as necessary to align local prices with international levels and safeguard public finances.
Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz announced on Monday via CNN Chile the fuel price hikes effective Thursday, March 26, following decrees and calculations by the National Energy Commission. 93-octane gasoline will rise $370 per liter (32%), averaging $1,170 in the Metropolitan Region, while diesel increases $580 (62%) to $932 per liter. These reflect international rises of 42% in gasolines and 55% in diesel since late February in the US, tied to the Iran conflict and Middle East war, per government data and President José Antonio Kast's Sunday La Tercera comments. Quiroz pegged the weekly fiscal cost of the Fuel Price Stabilization Mechanism (Mepco) at US$140 million, inherited from prior administrations, stating: “Enfrentado a esta crisis histórica, con una estrechez económica también muy aguda, heredada de las administraciones anteriores, tenemos que tomar decisiones duras, difíciles, probablemente también históricas” and “Mi rol como ministro de Hacienda es velar por la Hacienda Pública [...] no es ser popular” (CNN Chile). Mepco will persist to lower prices if international oil falls. Palliative measures include freezing Sistema Red (exTransantiago) fares until December 31, 2026, with regional funding via mirror formula. Paraffin returns to February levels (over $1,000/liter) until late September, via a bill replenishing the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund (Fepp) from US$5 to US$60 million. Taxi and colectivo drivers get $100,000 monthly for six months, plus preferential Banco Estado credits for electromobility over six years. Differentiated specific tax credit for non-transport firms suspends for six months, and trucker security measures advance. A decree extended the import parity price calculation period to four weeks (Official Gazette, March 24). Quiroz expressed citizen empathy but ruled out further debt, confirming US$6 billion public spending cuts.
