Postponing is not free

The 2027 budget bill faces sharp criticism for suspending the transfer of five public education services for a second consecutive year while simultaneously eliminating eighteen social programs worth fifty billion pesos. Critics argue these moves shift costs to municipalities and cut essential protections without adequate justification. The Executive branch has until October 28 to submit amendments to the legislation. The proposed law maintains the suspension of the handover of five Local Public Education Services, known as SLEPs, which were already deferred in the 2026 budget. Ingrid Olea Sepulveda, executive director of Educacion 2020, stated that this fiscal decision lacks fundamental explanations. She noted that the state will continue financing services that will not administer schools. The draft allocates fourteen point two six eight million dollars to the administration of these five entities, representing a thirty-five point six percent increase over the previous year. A non-occurring transfer should logically reduce spending, she argued. Furthermore, operational expenses have not stopped. The Department of Education reported that Los Copihues awarded its remuneration system contract on September 28, and Los Cerezos signed its agreement on October 1. These administrative delays impose financial burdens on local governments. Twenty-seven communes must retain responsibility for their schools in 2027 with a municipal education fund reduced by thirty-eight point four percent in real terms. One mayor from the coastal SLEP region estimated his contribution at twenty-five hundred million pesos against a total budget of two hundred thousand million pesos. The mayor of San Antonio warned that neither his education fund nor his regional development plan accounts for these additional costs. Olea Sepulveda urged the government to publish detailed reports on each postponement, including the annual cost of administration for both services and municipalities, before the amendment deadline. She emphasized that moving policy timelines without timely notice erodes trust among families and educational communities. Separately, a study by the Citizen Horizon Foundation indicates that the 2027 budget proposal eliminates eighteen social benefit programs totaling fifty billion pesos. It also initiates the closure of three other similar initiatives. These programs span seven ministries, including Development, Labor, Education, Justice, Women, Agriculture, and Culture. The foundation was created by former President Michelle Bachelet in 2018. Tito Bofill, the coordinator of the study, described the government’s approach as treating social protection as adjustable expense rather than a guaranteed duty. He added that when adjustments systematically fall on those with least capacity to defend themselves, the budget becomes a declaration of priorities. Of the eighteen eliminated programs, thirteen had received favorable evaluations from the government’s Budget Directorate. Five others faced different statuses, including one technical objection, two lacking recent ratings, one divided into ten initiatives with varying assessments, and one already closed in 2025. The cuts include employment promotion plans despite national unemployment rising to nine point six percent according to the National Institute of Statistics. Eliminated job-related funds included Sustainable Employability, Cultural Work Promotion, and Woman Entrepreneurship. Other affected areas include disability support, agricultural workers, and creative ecosystems. Concerns also surround child protection funding. Francisco Covarrubias Izquierdo of the Coalition for the Right to Live in Family highlighted that more than seventeen thousand children live under state care, with thousands more awaiting specialized attention after suffering violations. While the Specialized Protection Service budget grows by six point one percent, allocations for foster families and residences drop by nearly twenty-two thousand million pesos. This reduction relies on two fragile assumptions: low execution rates in 2026 and fewer children in residences in 2027. Covarrubias countered that lower spending does not mean fewer children need protection, and intake numbers continue to rise without sufficient foster family capacity. Current contributions operate below actual costs, with residences running a thirty-one percent deficit according to Focus data. He called on Congress to restore resources and demand a robust three-year financial programming from the Executive before approving the item.