Chile’s Social Development Minister Toro Challenges Kast’s US$6 Billion Spending Cut: “Debate with Clear Data, Not Myths”
Chile’s Minister of Social Development and Family, Javiera Toro, pushed back against José Antonio Kast’s proposal to cut US$6 billion in public spending, warning it is nearly four times her ministry’s budget and would jeopardize essential social programs. She called for a public debate “grounded in information and clear data, not myths,” emphasizing that social protection should not be weakened in a country still grappling with deep inequality.
Toro cautioned that a reduction of this magnitude would hit virtually the entirety of her ministry’s work: child protection, services for older adults and people with disabilities, and the wide spectrum of caregiving support. “This doesn’t appear to be a discussion backed by real data,” she noted, urging a shift from headline figures to the concrete impacts such cuts would have on families and communities.
While advocating for evidence-based scrutiny, Toro acknowledged the need for better efficiency. She explained that the 2026 budget framework for the Ministry of Social Development is tightly constrained, with limited overall growth, yet it prioritizes meaningful increases in areas such as childhood support and care. “You can set clear priorities, address urgent needs, and still improve how the State operates,” she argued.
As an example of efficiency without retrenchment, Toro highlighted two initiatives presented to the Joint Budget Subcommittee: Elige Vivir Sano’s micro food bank and the Social Solidarity and Investment Fund’s (FOSIS) solidarity markets. Both rescue and reuse food in good condition that would otherwise be discarded. For 2026, the ministry plans to unify these efforts and operate them within FOSIS to streamline coordination and reduce duplication—without rolling back social policy.
Looking ahead to the congressional debate on the 2026 Budget Bill, Toro said early discussions have centered on safeguarding social programs. She underscored the frequent gap between broad rhetoric about fiscal tightening and the specific decisions legislators must make, noting it is difficult to oppose concrete initiatives that directly serve vulnerable groups. She recalled that last year the entire Chile Crece Contigo allocation was initially rejected, a move she described as unjustifiable and ultimately reversed, illustrating how political differences can sometimes overshadow substantive policy considerations.
Toro also pointed to broad, cross-party support for expanding the care system. At openings of community care centers, participation spans the political spectrum, including mayors from both the governing coalition and the opposition. She argued that it would be hard to reconcile such local-level support with a refusal to back the National Support and Care System bill in Congress. Consistency between public commitments and legislative votes, she said, is vital for democratic credibility.
A University of Chile–trained lawyer, Toro stressed that strong social mobilization—particularly from caregivers—has helped advance the national care agenda. She expressed hope that the bill recognizing the right to care and establishing the National Support and Care System will be approved in the coming months to ensure that progress does not depend on a single administration.
Toro highlighted recent work to quantify the cost of caregiving and childrearing. The Care Basket (Canasta de Crianza)—presented by the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity with support from the Ministry of Social Development and Family, the Ministry of Economy, and the National Statistics Institute—offers Chile’s first national estimate of the economic cost of raising children and adolescents. The study uses data primarily from the Household Budget Survey and the National Time-Use Survey, which was updated in 2023. On average, the care basket for a child or adolescent is estimated at around 595,000 pesos, combining direct out-of-pocket expenses for goods and services with the value of unpaid care time—work that has historically fallen disproportionately on women.
To elevate the value of care, the government is pushing to consolidate the National Support and Care System. The aim is to recognize care—for children and adolescents, people with disabilities, those who are dependent, and older adults—as a social responsibility rather than one borne solely by individual families. During this administration, a caregiver credential was created to formally recognize caregiving as work, with more than 229,000 people already identified—though the real number is likely much higher. Legislating these changes, Toro said, is a priority to ensure continuity beyond the current government.
Summing up, Toro maintained that Chile can improve efficiency and coordination without undermining the social safety net. She urged that any discussion of sweeping fiscal cuts be rooted in transparent, verifiable data and an understanding of their real-world consequences. For her, the path forward is to preserve and strengthen social protection while refining public management—an approach she believes aligns with both fiscal responsibility and the country’s ongoing fight against inequality.
