Original article: «Fisco sin caja»: Cifras actualizadas desmienten afirmación de ministro de Hacienda Jorge Quiroz

Updated Figures Dispute Claims by Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz About Fiscal Deficits

Immediate rebuttals followed the claims made by the new Finance Minister, Jorge Quiroz, who stated in a press conference from La Moneda that President Boric’s government left the treasury «without funds,» asserting they have only about 1% of the typical amount.

«The treasury closed the previous administration with US$40 million as of December 31, 2025. Normally, treasury balances at the end of an administration range between US$3 billion and US$4 billion,» Quiroz indicated, prompting a nearly instant response from his predecessor, Nicolás Grau.

In a post on his social media, Grau stated, «I will not give interviews or comments, out of respect for the new authorities. Regarding the treasury data in question: the last public amount is 1.406 billion dollars (end of January, see photo), and the figure at the beginning of this week (which fluctuates significantly) was over 800 million dollars.»

The former minister substantiated his post with an image showing the updated treasury figures, which quickly went viral as a rebuttal to the statements made by Minister Quiroz.

Did Quiroz confuse the figures? According to the Secretary General of the Frente Amplio, Andrés Couble, «Simply put, the former minister (Grau) shows with data that Quiroz is using outdated figures, either out of ignorance or ill intentions, to create a perception of a critical situation.»

Former minister Giorgio Jackson echoed this sentiment, stating, «Minister Quiroz, in twisting the data to invent an emergency, took a figure from three months ago (US$46MM) instead of the updated figure he received upon entering the government (US$1.400MM), which is 30 times greater.»

«One never ceases to be surprised,» Jackson added.

We will continue to provide updates.