Residents Demand Restoration of Housing Subsidies in MINVU Protest Amid Cuts of 20,500 Grants

Original article: “Devuelvan los recursos para la vivienda”: pobladores protestan en el MINVU por recorte de 20.500 subsidios

20,500 DS49 subsidies cut in February triggered a protest by nearly 1,000 residents from the Movimiento Solidario Vida Digna today at the Ministry of Housing.

With the slogan “Restore Housing Resources”, protesters hailing from Huechuraba, San Joaquín, San Ramón, Quinta Normal, La Florida, and Conchalí demanded the reinstatement of these grants and an increase in the 2027 Budget for social housing.

The demonstration focuses on four housing projects that the residents claim are stalled due to lack of funds and bureaucratic delays.

“We demand the restoration of funds because there are thousands of families across the country waiting for their homes to begin construction, but they remain stalled because the government has not replenished the cut resources,” stated Gloria Díaz, spokesperson for the movement.

Her remarks encapsulate the frustration of committees and residents who view the housing crisis as an unresolved debt.

In a public declaration, organizations highlighted the “unbearable contradiction” of José Antonio Kast’s administration, pointing out that “while public spending is cut, tax revenues decrease due to megareforms, and thousands of families are likely to be excluded from DS49, the government allocates increasing public resources to provide guarantees to banks and even buy their mortgage debts, all to continue escalating debt levels that we know are unsustainable in the long run.”

“In other words, public resources are fueling a real estate bubble,” the organizations emphasized.

They also questioned the public spending focus on mortgage debt and high-value housing.

“Families organized into housing committees are not credit subjects for banks, so focusing public spending on subsidizing and guaranteeing debt for high-value housing only harms us because these houses are used for rental and inflate the entire market price instead of prioritizing the needs of families without homes,” they stated in the text.

The movement’s agenda includes six demands to MINVU. First, to replenish the 20,500 subsidized social housing grants (DS49) that were approved by Congress, to select currently submitted projects to SERVIU nationwide and advance to the start of construction.

Second, to approve a 2027 Budget with at least 50,000 DS49 subsidies, which would return to the financing threshold prior to cuts made to the 2026 Budget.

Third, no evictions without housing solutions, as camps are a result of the crisis and the only response possible for more and more families. Fourth, to abandon changes to DS49 that MINVU intends to use to exclude families in the 70% to 90% range of the Social Household Registry (RSH) from the subsidy.

Fifth, to abandon changes to the General Urbanism and Construction Ordinance, “because increasing the number of homes that can be constructed in the city will only lead to increased land prices.”

Sixth, to implement measures that genuinely allow for improved access to housing, such as stopping speculation in land and housing prices, which is the real cause of the housing crisis.

Another area of criticism was the capital market reform pushed from La Moneda, which proposes allocating $2 billion to purchase and guarantee mortgage debts and is currently being processed in Congress.

In response to this measure, Gloria Díaz indicated a problem of priorities from Kast’s administration, stating, “Instead of allocating public resources to address the population’s needs, the government prefers to protect the real estate and banking businesses.”

“That is unacceptable because no one gives us credit. It seems they do not realize that half of workers earn less than $800,000, and with that, there is no possibility of credit.”

The declaration was signed by a wide bloc of movements, committees, and cooperatives. The first group includes: Movimiento Solidario Vida Digna, Movimiento Nacional de Pobladoras y Pobladores, Pintana Solidaria, Movimiento de Poblador@s en Lucha, Tejer, Sembrar, Movimiento de Pobladores Vivienda Digna, Coordinadora de Comités de Vivienda Santiago Centro, Movimiento de Pobladoras por el Hábitat de Peñalolén, Federación de Cooperativas de Vivienda por Propiedad Colectiva, Unión de Comités de Allegados de San Joaquín, Coordinadora de Allegados de Huechuraba, Coordinadora de Allegados Futura Esperanza de La Reina, 3° Coordinadora de Allegados de La Pintana, Plataforma Vecinal Renca, Agrupación Luchadores y Luchadoras de Lo Hermida e Independencia Solidaria.

A second group includes: Movimiento La Comuna, Comité Santiago Histórico, Comité Por un Santiago Multicolor, Comité Comunidad Quinta Normal, Comité Memoria y Derecho de Las Condes, Comité Los Soñadores de Las Condes, Comité Nuevo Amanecer de Quinta Normal, Comité Alianza Yungay, Comité Trabajo y Esperanza, Comité Resistencia Pobladora Chillán, Comité Fuerza Campesina de Coihueco, Comité Luchadores y Luchadoras de Barrancas de Cerro Navia, Comité Julio Guerra Villa Olímpica, Comité Orlando Millas de San Miguel, Comité Orlando Millas 2 de San Miguel, Comité Nuestro Sueño Nuestra Casa de San Miguel, and Comité Erika Martinez de San Miguel.

The third group includes: Comité Juntos Por Un Sueño de San Miguel, Comité Un Nuevo Amanecer de San Miguel, Comité Todos por el Sueño de La Florida, Comité Mujeres Unidas de Puente Alto, Comité Peuma de Puente Alto, Comité Fuerza de Mujer de Puente Alto, Comité Sueño a Realidad de Puente Alto, Comité Mariano Latorre 2.0 de Puente Alto, Cooperativa Cerrada de Vivienda Ñuke Mapu, Cooperativa de Vivienda La Colmena, Cooperativa de Vivienda Fuego Nativo, Cooperativa de Vivienda La Ribera, Cooperativa de Vivienda feminista Simone de Beauvoir, Cooperativa de Vivienda Ayllu, Cooperativa de Vivienda 17 de mayo, and Cooperativa de Vivienda Cabras del Cerro.