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Original article: Se cae el relato económico: Imacec baja 1,2% en abril y minería se desploma 11,8%

The Monthly Economic Activity Index (Imacec) reported a 1.2% decline in April compared to the same month last year and a dramatic 11.8% drop in the mining sector, contradicting the economic recovery narrative that the government of José Antonio Kast has been trying to establish in the public opinion.

According to the results released by the Central Bank, this indicator reflects its worst performance since 2023, marking four consecutive months of declines, following drops of 0.1% in January, 0.3% in February, and 0.1% in March.

The central bank indicated that the seasonally adjusted series increased by 0.1% compared to March, but decreased by 0.9% over the past year, noting that April had the same number of working days as the same month in 2025.

The results surpassed market forecasts, with analysts projecting a scenario of approximately 0.5% reduction or a slight growth of 0.1%.

Mining Sector Plummets by 11.8%

The annual contraction in the indicator was largely attributed to the significant decline in the mining sector, which recorded an 11.8% contraction primarily due to reduced copper extraction.

Overall, the production of goods fell by 5.4% annually. Additionally, industrial activity declined by 0.4% and the rest of the goods category saw a 2.3% decrease, impacted by a downturn in the fishing industry.

According to the report, in seasonally adjusted terms, goods production increased by 1.2% compared to the previous month, mainly driven by the industrial sector.

In the retail sector, despite a yearly growth of 2.1%, seasonally adjusted figures showed a 1.0% contraction compared to the previous month, primarily due to wholesale trade.

As for services, despite an annual increase of 0.8%, mainly driven by personal services, particularly health, a decline was observed in business-related services, both annually and in seasonally adjusted monthly variation.

The seasonally adjusted figures showed a decrease of 0.2% compared to the previous month, influenced by poor performance in business services and transport, as reported by the report.

The Economic Recovery Narrative Falls Apart

Since his electoral campaign and entrance to La Moneda, José Antonio Kast has persistently promoted a narrative of supposed economic recovery to defend controversial initiatives, such as the mega tax reform which includes measures like reducing the first category tax from 27% to 23%, eliminating capital gains tax on stock exchanges, implementing a tax credit for formal employment, and establishing a 25-year tax invariability for investments exceeding US$50 million.

With a 1.2% drop in April’s Imacec compared to the same month last year, and a citizen approval rating of 31% alongside a disapproval rate of 53.3%, according to the latest Pulso Ciudadano survey, the president will present his first Public Accountability on Monday, where he must defend before Congress the direction of the country’s economy since taking office on March 11.

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