The ruling coalition is moving to fast-track a massive economic reactivation and reconstruction project, aiming to vote on the legislative framework in the Finance Committee this coming Thursday, May 7, according to reports from latercera.com.
Representative Agustín Romero, Chair of the Finance Committee, is coordinating this timeline with the Executive branch to conclude hearings and move toward a vote in the Chamber of Deputies before the May 21 holiday.
The initiative, which includes a tax reform and is a key component of President Antonio Kast's "emergency government" plan, has been designated as a matter of utmost urgency. Although the original 15-day deadline was set to expire on May 7, Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz aims to have the Chamber clear the text by May 20 at the latest.
Tension in the committee
The proposed schedule has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition. Representative Carlos Bianchi (Independent, PPD) denounced the government's attempt to send a "false signal to the country" by seeking a favorable committee vote that does not reflect what will actually happen on the House floor.
“They want a headline telling the country that the vote was favorable. That is an absolute falsehood. It is nothing more than a very poor attempt to rush the process,” Bianchi stated, adding that the government is acting in an impositionist manner to bypass the collaborative legislative process.
Meanwhile, Representative Boris Barrera (PC) described the move as "authoritarian." According to the lawmaker, the speed of the process prevents the necessary consultation with the wide range of experts and organizations required for a reform of such magnitude.
“This would set a very bad precedent for the committee and for the committee chair himself, given that this is an incredibly important and massive reform,” Barrera noted.
The Finance Committee's plan stipulates that, following a general vote on Thursday the 7th, the detailed discussion of specific articles will take place between May 11 and May 13. Subsequently, the text will move to the Labor and Environment committees, which are also chaired by members of the ruling coalition.
Representative Romero defended the planning, arguing that the committee has a regulatory obligation to honor the Executive's urgency request. “The goal is to ensure an orderly process within the established deadlines, so that the project can be cleared in a timely manner,” the Republican lawmaker explained.
The government's ultimate goal is to have the proposal passed into law before the start of the second half of the year. To achieve this, the Executive is seeking to prevent the matter from being stalled in the Senate until June 2, due to the legislative recess at the end of May and President Kast's annual public report.
