The Ministry of Finance reported that tomorrow, Wednesday, a bill will be submitted to the National Congress—as a matter of urgency—authorizing the incurrence of obligations of up to US$ 6.2 billion during 2026.

This authorization is additional and independent of that contemplated in the 2026 Budget Law, and is added to it for the purpose of aligning 2026 financing with the actual needs identified following an update of the fiscal scenario presented in the Public Finance Report (IFP) for the first quarter of 2026.

Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz explained the origin of this need: "The decision is quite straightforward from an arithmetic perspective. In the Public Finance Report, we showed that there had been an overestimation of revenues and an underestimation of expenditures. As a result, we project for this year a deficit of 2.4 percentage points of GDP, higher than the 1.5% provided for in the Budget Law approved last year," he stated.

The minister detailed that this difference, combined with the exchange rate effect on debt issuance, explains a financing need close to US$ 4.7 billion, to which is added an additional component aimed at regularizing unavoidable payment obligations of the State. "If we were to request only that amount, we would continue deferring pending state obligations. There are unpaid suppliers, many of them small and medium-sized enterprises, whose payments are part of Chile's state obligations. That is why we have included an additional amount estimated at US$ 1.5 billion for working capital and to reduce floating debt," he stated.

The Ministry of Finance clarified that several of these requirements correspond to obligations that were not fully recognized in the previous budget formulation. In particular, the actual central government deficit projection increased to CLP 8.7 billion, in a context of exceptionally low cash levels and elevated floating debt. The ministry emphasized that the bill seeks precisely to make transparent that situation and bring order to the fiscal accounts for the year.

It was explained that, since the maximum debt ceiling is established in the Budget Law, the request must be processed by Congress through a separate additional authorization, without modifying that law or the ceiling already approved. This is the same mechanism used during the pandemic, when the State resorted to an additional debt authorization beyond the Budget to meet greater financing needs.

Finally, the minister reiterated the Government's commitment to fiscal discipline. "We will continue rationalizing spending, implementing austerity measures, and combating social fraud, so that fiscal accounts gradually converge toward normalization over the course of our administration," he stated.