The leadership of the Socialist Party (PS) gathered in front of La Moneda Palace this Wednesday to voice their opposition to the reconstruction bill that the Executive branch is set to present via a national broadcast.
Senator Paulina Vodanovic, the party's president, led the demonstration alongside a group of senators and deputies. The group delivered a letter addressed to President José Antonio Kast to formally notify him of their opposition to the initiative's contents.
In the letter, the PS asserts that the proposal is not a reconstruction law, but rather a “hidden, regressive, and high-risk tax reform, the negative impacts of which will fall on those with the least in Chile.”
The party criticized the government's decision to embed structural changes to the tax system within an omnibus bill linked to emergency relief. According to the document, this move aims to bypass deep debate and dilute the impact of the measure under the guise of social urgency.
Criticisms of fiscal and social impact
The party maintains that the proposal presents a macroeconomic inconsistency. “On one hand, a widespread fiscal cut is proposed, while on the other, it leads to lower tax revenue,” the letter addressed to the president states.
The PS warns that the benefits of the measure are concentrated among high-income segments and large-scale capital, while the costs are borne by society. Consequently, the leadership announced it will oppose “unambiguously any tax cut of this magnitude.”
Prior to delivering the letter, Vodanovic described the Executive branch as “indolent” and “incompetent.” The lawmaker stated that the so-called reconstruction law favors the wealthiest 1% of the country and asserted that the party would not be complicit in the project.
“As the opposition, we will react in the manner we are doing now, defending the people and their interests,” the senator declared in front of the statue of Salvador Allende.
Vodanovic also denounced a lack of communication from the government toward the party's parliamentary group. According to the Socialist leader, there is a “disdain for democracy” in failing to properly inform lawmakers about the introduction of this tax reform.