To the cake factory “Frozen Valley” located in the commune of Independencia, the Minister of Social Development and Family, Karla Rubilar, arrived; the Minister of Finance, Rodrigo Cerda; the Minister of Women and Gender Equity, Mónica Zalaquett and the Undersecretary of Social Services, Andrea Balladares, to announce that the payment of the Universal IFE corresponding to the month of August that began this Saturday with the first 500 thousand electronic transfers.
According to the Government, the scope of this IFE is 8,016,427 households and 16,282,182 people nationwide. Of this total, 7,729,111 households correspond to automatic payments who had already received any of the previous contributions from the IFE, and 287,316 are new households registered between August 6 and 16.
Minister Rubilar said that “this is part of the commitment we acquired as a government, to continue making efforts to maintain the social protection of families in our country, and in that sense, this month’s payment was advanced starting the process of electronic transfer to 500 thousand households, and what is more relevant with this IFE we are reaching more than 8 million households, and more than 16 million people, which means that our social safety net is reaching more and more families in our country. That is, we are talking about a very large transfer that is going to be maintained to protect the families who are having the most trouble.”
The Minister of Finance, Rodrigo Cerda explained that “there is no better social policy than formal and quality jobs. That is why, as a government, we are supporting their recovery through different instruments, especially with the IFE labor – which delivers up to 250,000 pesos to the groups most affected by the pandemic such as women and young people and up to 200,000 to the rest – which will allow us to complement economic growth and recovery with more jobs.”
Of the total number of beneficiaries, 51.4% correspond to female heads of household, that is, more than 4 million beneficiary households are headed by women. In this regard, Minister Zalaquett, said that “the Universal IFE is one of the benefits that goes in direct support of those who have suffered the consequences of this pandemic. Without a doubt, this is a fundamental support for so many women who have had to leave the workforce. My invitation is to inform yourself and apply for all the benefits with a gender focus that the Government is promoting, since these have an additional incentive for the reintegration of women into the world of work and thus continue to advance in balancing the field and ending gender gaps. ”
The payment that begins this Saturday, August 28, will be extended until September 10 through electronic transfer, while face-to-face payments begin this Thursday, September 2.
The Undersecretary of Social Services explained that “it is very important to be clear that an employment contract or having a job is compatible with the Universal IFE, if the economic situation of the household improves, the benefit is not lost, so the call is to take job opportunities because there is no better social policy than a stable job over time that ensures income for families.”
Meanwhile, the Undersecretary of Social Evaluation, Alejandra Candia, explained that “although as a country we have registered positive figures in terms of economic recovery, employment and also a sustained drop in infections, as a Government and as a Ministry we will continue to monitor the situation of households, looking for the best formulas to continue advancing and leaving behind this health and socioeconomic crisis.”
Cerda said that “we have to act responsibly” regarding the project of a fourth withdrawal of pension funds, which this week will be voted on in the Constitution Commission of the Chamber of Deputies. Recall that on Wednesday the initiative will be voted, while from the Government insist that with the Universal Emergency Family Income (IFE) is enough.
“When social aid, as we are now, is already fully deployed and we are giving peace of mind to almost 16 and a half million Chileans, that is, we are talking about we are approaching almost 90 percent of Chileans,” Cerda said.
Adding that “politics, and when I say politics I am talking about the Government, but also the Parliament, we have to act responsibly and we have to think about the pensions of Chileans forward and, andFaithly, continue with this policy of withdrawals all it does is decapitalize the savings of Chileans.”
