Members of the Verde Social Regionalist Federation will present on Monday a draft resolution calling on the President of the Republic to initiate the legislative processing of a draft law, with immediate discussion, to grant a new contribution the family, emulating the so-called March Bonus, with the same recipients, but for an amount greater than, equivalent to 100 thousand pesos.
According to the document, “the purpose of this is to alleviate the effects that COVID-19 is having on the microeconomics of Chilean households, injecting the liquidity necessary to families to supply sufficient assets, and to confront better way this health crisis.”
In this regard, the head of the Regionalist Bank and author of the project, Mep Alejandra Sepúlveda, noted that while “the economic measures raised by the President of the Republic with his Minister of Finance, are important, we believe that they are still Insufficient. That is why we are considering a bonus that goes directly to the family, approving what happens with the March bonus, for the same amount of people and with the same modality. That’s already designed, we know which families to deliver to, and it would also allow it to do so at the speed it takes to be able to inject fresh resources into the family at this minute that is urgently needed.”
In this regard, the parliamentarian explained that “the government’s plan envisages an Income Support Bonus, equivalent to the Family Allowance bonus, which would benefit 2 million people without formal work, at a projected cost of US$ 130 million, as measured that while we value it, it falls short, so, we insist, it becomes imperative to have a greater fiscal effort to alleviate the spending of Chilean families, especially those living with higher levels of social vulnerability.”
“The State must not only be supported by those who do not have formal work, but also those who, having an employment contract, have an impact on their income from the lower production caused by COVID-19. That is why we call on the government to be able to carry out this project, that we can deal with it in immediate discussion, because we only need the political will to make this happen, and no one could subtract from giving a benefit to so many families who have reduced income from Coronavirus.”
Finally, Sepúlveda explained that “if we also consider that one of the short-term consequences that this crisis will have in the pockets of Chileans is the least amount of current they will have to meet the different expenses to supply, and meet successfully the measures of political and health authority would even be a measure to safeguard the health of these families,” he concluded.
