Chile’s Boric Proposes Small Spending Hike Amid Fiscal Woes

Chile’s public spending will rise less in 2026 than in recent years, President Gabriel Boric said on Tuesday night as his administration looks to recover credibility following back-to-back missed fiscal targets.

The administration’s 2026 budget proposal foresees just a 1.7% increase in expenditures and will focus on healthcare, including treatments for mental illness and waiting list reductions, Boric said in a televised speech. Other priorities will be pensions, housing and public security. The plan will now be debated by Congress, which can alter some of the legislation’s contents.