Budget Cuts Favor the Wealthy, Disregard Basic Rights for the Rest

Original article: Nos quitan a los de abajo para darle a los de arriba

By Myriam Barahona Torres, President of Fenafuch and University Senator at U. de Chile

A budget is not merely a technical sheet; it’s a way for a government to set its priorities. It defines who gains, who loses, and what sacrifices it is willing to make. The 2027 Budget clearly reflects the current administration’s stance.

The first casualty is rights. A staggering 86 programs will either disappear or experience a reduction of more than 80% in their funding. The initiative «I Choose My PC» is cut to zero after 17 years, Prodemu is shut down, the pension subsidy for young workers is eliminated, and support for women’s employment is slashed by 93.9%.

Funding for culture decreases by 10.1%, science by 6.4%, and education is left unchanged at 0.0%, as if these areas were luxuries no longer affordable for the nation.

However, rights are not negotiable based on budget lines; they are guaranteed or they are not. Today, the state chooses to strip its citizens of their rights. When the state withdraws from fulfilling these rights and relinquishes its role to enhance employment or lower basic goods prices, the only outcome is uncertainty. In the face of such uncertainty, the only option presented is debt.

This problematic logic is explicitly evident in university funding. The same proposal that cuts their contributions also lowers barriers to student debt: the Treasury will respond to credit requests in 60 days, requiring only three contribution statements and no public proposal. Where there once was a right, a loan is now offered.

Direct funding from the state to the University of Chile is projected to fall by nearly 10% in real terms.

The University of Chile educates professionals, generates knowledge, and sustains a significant portion of the country’s cultural life. Cutting its budget reflects and exemplifies a reduction in the growth and development of the entire nation.

The situation at the Art and Cultural Extension Center of the University of Chile is dire. It supports the National Symphony Orchestra, the National Choir, and the National Ballet, yet its funding is proposed to be cut to zero by the executive. How can this not be concerning for the workers and their families?

How did Chile reach this situation?

Priorities were set in July, employing a two-step approach. First, a massive reform lowered the tax rate for large companies from 27% to 23%. According to a Treasury report, 80% of this benefit goes to the wealthiest 1%.

Now, the remaining 99% are bearing the costs, as what follows is the second phase: the tax cuts reduced state revenue, and this gap is being filled with debt and budget cuts. First, they gave handouts to a few, and now they are taking from the many.

I am concerned that, in response, each sector will only defend its own interests. A limited response focused solely on specific issues divides us.

This budget reflects the shared vision of those wishing to diminish the state and erode rights. We, all of us, stand on the opposite side with a common proposal where the state and public policy ensure redistribution, justice, rights, and equality.

This unity in perspective must transform into a strategic and social alliance. We are striving for more rights; we will halt the cuts.

Myriam Barahona Torres, President of the National Federation of Associations of Officials and Staff at the University of Chile (Fenafuch)