Camila Vallejo Slams Minister Quiroz: «No One in Chile Uses Kerosene and No Student Needs a Computer for Learning»

Original article: Vallejo dispara contra Quiroz: «Para el ministro nadie en Chile usa parafina y ningún estudiante necesita un computador para estudiar»

Former Minister of the Secretariat General of Government, Camila Vallejo, harshly criticized Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz, following his recent comments justifying the increase in fuel prices. Quiroz also confirmed that the administration of José Kast left the 2027 budget without funding for the Junaeb program «I Choose My PC» and did not rule out teacher layoffs.

“According to Minister Quiroz, no one in Chile uses kerosene, no student needs a computer for studying and doing homework, and no teachers are needed to ensure the right to education, as if it were magically assumed that students learn,” stated the former state secretary under President Gabriel Boric and a member of the Communist Party in a post shared on her account on X.

It is important to note that Quiroz has faced widespread criticism for justifying the rise in kerosene prices to $281.8 per liter, which took effect on Thursday, October 1st.

This fuel had been the only one to remain unchanged since the fuel price hike in March, as the government of José Antonio Kast had opted to freeze its price around $1,000 per liter. However, after six months, they decided to lift the freeze.

When asked about the reasoning for this change in stance, Minister Quiroz stated that «the reality is that no one consumes kerosene at these temperatures, as consumption is minimal.”

“That is why it was discontinued,” he asserted to the press from Congress.

His remarks sparked a torrent of criticism, and he acknowledged that the statement “was not the best,” yet he maintained his assertion that most kerosene consumption occurs during cooler months.

Vallejo also denounced the Kast administration’s decision to end the long-standing program «I Choose My PC», an initiative that began in 2009 and, so far this year, has provided computers to 96,100 students through Junaeb’s Technology, Information, and Communications Grants.

In an interview with Radio Infinita, the finance minister confirmed that the executive branch left the program without resources in the 2027 budget, stating that La Moneda had evaluated over 600 programs, including «I Choose My PC», and found it to have issues without clarifying what those were.

«One assesses programs, over 600 programs have been evaluated here. This government is not the first to assess programs; evaluations are a longstanding practice. The main difference is that our administration highlights findings, indicating problems and failures to reach the entire population or only serving a very small segment,” he justified.

Additionally, the head of the budget did not rule out teacher layoffs due to a reduction of nearly 3.6% in maximum hours in the National Budget.

In an interview with Radio Infinita, Quiroz explained that the allocation for Local Public Education Services (SLEP) and declining birth rates imply less revenue for the school system, which necessitates achieving “better efficiencies.”

“This will naturally lead to optimization and likely result in layoffs, but these layoffs are unrelated to the denial of social benefits; the benefit is the right to education. Let’s not confuse the right to educate with the obligation to employ; these are different matters,” stated the secretary of state, generating backlash from the Teachers’ Union, which is preparing legal actions, administrative measures, and possible protests to halt the dismissals.

Given this situation, former Minister Camila Vallejo warned about the social and economic consequences that could arise from these potential teacher layoffs “amidst a job crisis.”