Announcements to face the rise in the cost of living: Additional contribution to the Winter Bonus, end of the winter rate for electricity and state guarantee to support the middle class
One of the main areas highlighted by the President in his State-of-the-Nation address 2023 was sustainable development. He also announced the measures that have been taken to provide further support to families.
In his State-of-the-Nation address, President Gabriel Boric announced his government’s achievements, and made several announcements related to sustainable development, one of the key areas of his speech.
The President referred to the measures that are being taken to face the rise in the cost of living, recognizing that “although we have managed to stabilize the economy, the majority of Chilean households still have problems paying for their basic needs.”
“The economy deteriorated quickly, and its recovery was always going to be slower and more complex. That is why we have been very responsible in pushing it without taking shortcuts, because it is always those who live exclusively from their work who pay the costs. From day one, we have thus provided a series of supports to alleviate the burden that the rise in the cost of living has placed on families’ pockets, and we have done it responsibly, without mortgaging the future,” he stated.
President Boric explained that, in 2022, “we took measures to contain the increase in gasoline prices; reduce the price of a liter of paraffin by about 300 pesos (US$0.40); increase the Higher Education Food Grant (BAES) by 15% after ten years without change, meaning it will reach $48,000 pesos (US$60.50) in 2025; provide a contribution to offset the increase in the price of the basic food basket; and double the Bono Invierno (Winter Bonus) to $120,000 pesos (US$151.20) for more than seven million people. We called this the Chile Apoya (Chile Supports) Plan.”
The President highlighted the good news that the price of gasoline has been steadily falling, as has also been the case for paraffin, “which will allow us to better face winter this year.”
On the additional measures that have been and will be taken, the President stated that “at the beginning of this year, we promoted a package of additional measures to provide economic security to more than 1.5 million families; doubling the March Bonus to $120,000 pesos (US$151.20); creating the Electronic Family Purse in the RUT Account for purchasing food; increasing the Single-Family Subsidy (SUF) by 20%; and lowering the price of 4,200 new medicines for National Health Fund (FONASA) users in pharmacies. These supports join the increase in the minimum income, which, as we have seen, will be extended until mid-2024.”
One of the most important announcements made was that, during June, the Winter Bonus will be supplemented with an additional exceptional contribution, of the same amount with which the March Bonus was supplemented.
“We will also offer state guarantees to support middle-class people to renegotiate their debts in banks under better credit conditions,” he added.
“In relation to electricity bills, we know that winter hits harder those people who have a harder time making ends meet. For this reason, we have paid special attention to the parliamentarians who have expressed the need to stop the increase in electricity bills during the winter months. We have thus decided to administratively eliminate the winter rate as soon as possible. For this, the Energy Ministry is working with private companies so that this benefit can be seen in customer accounts as soon as possible.”