El Ciudadano
Original article: El plan neoliberal de recortes en programas sociales vía endeudamiento del Estado
By Leopoldo Lavín Mujica
The government led by José Antonio Kast has sought permission to raise the country’s debt by up to $6.2 billion. The figure is factual. However, the crux lies not in the number itself but in the political maneuvering behind it: accumulating debt now to later justify a neoliberal agenda of sweeping cuts to social programs. This is the scheme.
The mechanics are well-known. First, the fiscal deficit is inflated, or additional debt is sought. Then, it is announced that the State has reached its limit—the notorious 45% of GDP—and that «there’s no money.» Ultimately, surgical cuts are implemented that spare large domestic and foreign companies while targeting health, education, pensions, and subsidies for the populace. Thus, indebtedness becomes a political weapon.
The neoliberal and reactionary government of Kast is utilizing the State for this purpose. It’s a strategy. It incurs debt on behalf of the State, but the final beneficiaries will not be the people. Resources will continue to flow to the business oligarchy through tax exemptions, labor deregulation, and lucrative contracts. Conversely, the burden of adjustment will fall on the most vulnerable sectors. It’s a reverse wealth transfer.
In education, although no decrees have been signed yet, the direction is clear. The debate around indebtedness has already been exploited by ministers and ruling party legislators to warn that the populace will need to «tighten their belts.» Traditionally, this belt-tightening first affects public universities, scholarships, school feeding programs, and provisions for retirees. This is not a prophecy; it’s the script that has already been rehearsed during the dictatorship and in right-wing, social-democratic, and neoliberal governments across Europe.
The scheme has a silent accomplice: the business oligarchy. While the government requests more debt and prepares cuts, large chambers of commerce and employer unions remain silent or applaud «fiscal responsibility.» They know that the adjustments will not affect them. On the contrary, each social program eliminated represents a business opportunity in private health, paid education, and pension fund management.
Meanwhile, far-right factions led by the Kaiser brothers and the Libertarian National Party—which enjoys support from global far-right networks—are pressuring from the outside. They are not part of the government, but they push it to become even more radical. Their critique of Kast is not due to the cuts, but because they deem them insufficient. They desire less government involvement overall, except in terms of repression. This dispute among far-right groups does not change the fundamental issue: they all agree that the population should bear the brunt of the adjustment.
Neoliberal and conservative governments require the State to incur debt and dismantle the social aspect of the State, which is the result of popular struggles, yet their ideological discourse is one of hatred towards the State. This is a takeover of public power for privatizing purposes and the dismantling of social protection. Indebting the country is the first step in that operation.
In light of this scheme, it is reasonable to anticipate social responses. Not because there is a plan for agitation, but because people do not remain still when they see their basic rights threatened. Demonstrations, teacher strikes, and gatherings in defense of health and education are predictable forms of democratic resistance. There will not be inevitable chaos, but an increase in conflictivity. That is not a threat; it is a sociological fact.
In conclusion, Kast’s government is not incurring debt out of pure technical necessity. It is borrowing to construct the excuse that will allow it to implement a neoliberal plan of cuts to social programs. This is the scheme. And in this operation, the State becomes a weapon at the service of the business oligarchy against the people.
Knowing this is the first step to avoid being misled when they say tomorrow: «There’s no money.» The nerve of the matter lies in taxation of corporations and the substantial fortunes of the wealthiest 5% of families.
Leopoldo Lavín Mujica
La entrada Kast Administration’s Neoliberal Strategy: Debt Increase as a Pretext for Social Program Cuts se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.
🔥 Ver noticia completa en ElCiudadano.cl 🔥
