Chile's Economists: A First Tentative Dance

CHILE - In Brief 18 Nov 2025 by Robert Funk

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Some media outlets have reported that a group of economists who had supported Evelyn Matthei’s presidential campaign have already signed on to the Kast bandwagon. The reality is somewhat more tentative. However, talks are underway. A meeting was held on Tuesday morning between Kast’s economic advisor, Jorge Quiroz, and a group of high-profile economists normally associated with traditional parties of the right. A number of heavy-hitters attended the meeting, including two former Central Bank presidents – Vittorio Corbo and Rodrigo Vergara; Luis Larraín and Bettina Horst representing the UDI think tank, Libertad y Desarrollo; former Piñera ministers Felipe Larraín and Juan Andrés Fontaine; and former OECD chief economist Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel. It has been reported that there was broad agreement on the three main points of Kast’s economic plan: the US$6 billion reduction in fiscal spending, a reduction in the tax burden, and resolving the issue of “permisología”, which is to say, simplifying an overly-complex regulatory regime. Schmidt-Hebbel said the Matthei team was willing to lend “technical and political” support to Kast’s programme, but he admitted that the US$6 bn adjustment will need to be looked at carefully in order to avoid cutting social programmes. In fact, there were already some signs that Quiroz is flexible on the 18-month deadline.  "The details of implementation and the pace at which they are applied will soon be discussed," he said. "There are no fetishes or inalterable things." Following the meeting Quiroz said that similar meetings will take place with both Parisi's and Kaiser’s economic advisors, with a view towards presenting a united front against J...