José Antonio Kast’s administration will introduce its "National Reconstruction" bill to Congress this week, a 45-measure economic package designed by Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz. The initiative, which ranges from post-fire reconstruction efforts to fiscal adjustments and tax cuts, is shaping up to be the new administration's first major legislative showdown.
This parliamentary challenge comes at a moment of high vulnerability for the government. According to BioBioChile, the administration has reached its 33-day mark plagued by rising presidential disapproval and the end of its political "honeymoon." The government has faced backlash for using the term "bankrupt state" in official communications—which prompted an inquiry from the Comptroller General—and for a decree that drastically hiked fuel prices by changing the valuation formula, as reported by the same outlet.
Opposition parties have begun coordinating a strategic response to the reconstruction proposal, which several lawmakers have dubbed a "fruit salad" bill. The opposition bloc argues that the executive branch is using the urgency of reconstruction as a vehicle to push through structural reforms unrelated to the emergency. Socialist Party President Paulina Vodanovic criticized the bill's hodgepodge nature, noting, "It is an initiative that includes everything, and its ingredients are still not entirely clear."
A strategy of fragmentation
Frente Amplio deputy Jorge Brito harshly questioned the Finance Ministry’s intentions. "It is the first time in the history of this Congress that a reconstruction plan, born from a tragedy, has been used to lower taxes for large corporations," Brito stated. According to the lawmaker, the opposition will not allow "apples and oranges" to be mixed and will demand that aid for victims be treated independently from the tax agenda.
To stall the bill in its current form, lawmakers including Luis Cuello (PC), Daniela Serrano (PC), and Juan Santana (PS) have filed a formal request. Their goal is to ensure the initiative is not reviewed solely by the Finance Committee, but is instead referred to various technical committees within Congress, thereby complicating any attempt at a swift, uniform passage.
Center-left lawmakers are betting on a strategy of selectivity. Frente Amplio deputy Tatiana Urrutia indicated that her bloc is not seeking an outright rejection, but rather a detailed analysis of each point. "We are going to study them carefully, each on its own merits," the legislator declared.
As part of this tactic, the opposition is looking to build bridges with moderate factions of Chile Vamos, hoping that lawmakers like Diego Schalper might be open to questioning the bill's miscellaneous design. Socialist deputy César Valenzuela expressed hope that these sectors "can bring some reasonableness" to the proposal, allowing for the separation of widely supported measures from those they consider ideologically controversial.