translated from Spanish: Minister Briones calls ‘very positive’ TC ruling that denied retirees withdrawal slate from AFP

The Constitutional Court (TC) unanimously this week rejected the requirements of the two persons who demanded to withdraw the money that they have quoted in the AFPs. The applicants were María Angélica Ojeda, a teacher from Antofagasta, who sought to withdraw her planned savings from Cuprum, and Beatriz Valenzuela, who works in municipal health primary care and who wanted all her money saved in Habitat.
The ruling was valued as “very positive” this afternoon by the Minister of Finance, Ignacio Briones, who noted, in an interview with the Program Mesa Central de Canal 13, that “it must be understood that forced savings have a mandate that forces us to save money for when it is not income.” “If these resources are allowed to be disposition along the way, the goal for which this operates is lost,” he added.
Under this premise, the Secretary of State compared the request sought by these two people to initiatives from other countries such as Peru, where, in his view, this idea “was a disaster”.
Briones took the opportunity to refer to the government’s pension reform and ruled out that it will withdraw as opposition parliamentarians have requested, stressing that “it is important that this progress progresses and that it moves forward promptly.” At the same time, he assured that La Moneda is currently working on modifications to the original project, but that “what is clear today that there is a portion of the additional quote will go to distribution”
It should be noted that in this context, the Christian Democracy called on the Government to include in pension reform the possibility of withdrawing AFP funds in exceptional cases. This initiative was supported cross-cuttingly by Members of both political backgrounds.
 “A big drop in investment”
The head of the fiscal wallet also commented on the growth prospects for the country over the next year, pointing to a GDP expansion of 1.3% by 2020. “It’s hard to have an exact and true number,” he said.
Briones added that “there are data that are objective, and that we have presented (…) have to do with rising unemployment.”
In his view, there is likely to be “a big drop in investment” and explained that the political landscape may change.
The minister also addressed the tax reform and showed his confidence that what was agreed by parliamentarians will be respected without any ambiguity. “I have no doubt that this is going to be respected (…) this is going to be dealt with with maximum speed, it should be out in 15 days,” he said.
 

Original source in Spanish