Chilean Congress approved third 10% withdrawal from private pension funds

The Chilean Chamber of Deputies approved this Friday the project which allows a third withdrawal of 10% from private pension funds. The initiative, which had already received the approval of the Senate, it received 119 votes for and 17 against, against 3 abstentions.

However, it cannot yet be enacted because the government of Sebastián Piñera seeks to block it before the Constitutional Court, arguing that it is a counterproductive measure.

The president assured that pensions would be reduced by nearly 29% on average and that nearly half of the accounts would be left empty. “There are around three million Chileans who don’t have savings in their pension accounts, so they don’t have the resources to retire now or to retire in the future. If the third retreat were to prosper, there would already be five million people in this situation.“, Warned Tuesday the Minister Secretary General of the Government (Segpres), Juan José Ossa.

The action led to multiple protests across the country, most in the form of cacerolazos, neighborhoods and riots. The protests began with a huge cacerolazo from 9 p.m. across the country. Regarding the clashes, one of the most critical took place in the municipality of Ñuñoa, Santiago, where at least 50 people attacked the 33rd police station, which responded by throwing tear gas and using water spray car to disperse in the crowd.

The government wanted the main economic relief measures to come from its own coffers and not from those of the private sector. Although initiatives have been announced for a total amount of USD 20,000 million -10% of Chilean GDP- Some of these rescues have been sharply criticized by Chilean citizens for assuring that they will not reach the population en masse..

The series of demands and conditions imposed on receiving aid, in addition to its delay, generated a great deal of anger and despair in a population forced to remain in quarantine for several months.

Recent statements by businessmen, such as that of the president of the National Society of Agriculture, Ricardo Ariztía, who said that in his sector “There is a lack of people who cannot work because they receive government bondsThey only increased the discontent of the population.

Pressed by the advance of the third retreat, Piñera announced Monday the extension of emergency family income (IFE) to 13.5 of the 19 million inhabitants of the country, who will receive a monthly bonus of 100,000 pesos ($ 143) for one quarter.

However, the decision has generated a political crisis for the president, to the point that opposition parties are considering bringing forward a motion to impeach him (Constitutional indictment).

In this process, Members of Parliament act as the accusing party and present their reasons, while Senators function as a jury.. When they approve the charge, the attacker is suspended from duty and unable to hold public office for five years.

Within the government, Minister-Secretary General Juan José Ossa described this initiative as “a political ploy of bad faith”. “We must dialogue and speak to help the Chileans,” he said. Government spokesman Jaime Bellolio assured that it was an “absurd political question”.

KEEP READING: