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"It was mandated by law": Marcel defends himself against criticism for budget cuts to the Public Prosecutor's Office
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While the National Prosecutor, Ángel Valencia, expressed concern over the reduction of resources for the Public Prosecutor's Office. The measure, the authority explained, directly affects investigative capabilities, especially in cases related to organized crime.
The Minister of Finance, Mario Marcel, faced criticism over the $7.064 billion cut to the Public Prosecutor's Office budget, part of a broader $544 billion spending reduction for this year, which was included in a political agreement to pass the 2025 Budget Law.
"The spending adjustment that includes the Public Prosecutor's Office—explained the minister—was mandated by law. It was not a matter of choice or something where the Executive had any flexibility."
"The law established in a treasury provision that this cut had to be made, no later than 10 days after the law came into effect, and it had to be applied as uniform reductions across budget subcategories," he added in the same vein.
Amid this, the minister was questioned about the appropriateness of the budget cut, given the country's crime problems.
Regarding this, he pointed out that the reduction "exempted a group of institutions, including, within the security sector, the Carabineros police, the Investigative Police, and Chile's Gendarmerie."
The head of Teatinos 120 (Finance Ministry) also specified that "budget execution has flexibility margins during the year. Therefore, it allows for absorbing situations that may arise in any institution, in this case, the Public Prosecutor's Office."
"The message being sent is simply that the law is being followed," Marcel also replied when asked about what the government was signaling with the cut to the Public Prosecutor's Office.
It is worth noting that Parliament has raised a series of criticisms over this cut, despite it being approved by lawmakers. "The fact that resources are being taken away from departments dealing with organized crime seems extremely serious to me, because organized crime is currently setting the pace for the Chilean State, above the government," said, for example, Senator Iván Flores.
José Miguel Durana (UDI)—also a senator—warned, for his part, that "it is regrettable that the government has decided that part of the $7 billion peso budget cut affects the Prosecutor's Office, especially in a context of security crisis like the one Chile is facing."
NATIONAL PROSECUTOR
Meanwhile, the National Prosecutor, Ángel Valencia, expressed concern over the reduction of resources for the Public Prosecutor's Office. The measure, the authority explained, directly affects investigative capabilities, especially in cases related to organized crime.
“It is difficult to understand why the Public Prosecutor's Office is excluded from the budget protection criteria applied to the police. The Prosecutor's Office budget represents only 0.3% of total fiscal spending, a minimal figure that does not significantly affect state finances but does impact our operations,” Valencia stated from the former National Congress headquarters in Santiago.
The head of the Public Prosecutor's Office warned that the cut jeopardizes high-complexity investigations, such as those related to international drug cartels. “Last week, we led an investigation against members of the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel. That operation, supported by Carabineros, was led by a prosecutor from the Public Prosecutor's Office. Without adequate resources, such operations will be much harder to carry out,” he noted.
Additionally, the National Prosecutor explained that the budget adjustment affects the ability to hire honorary lawyers to support investigations and to fund external expert reports essential for ensuring case transparency.
“If this cut had happened last year, we would not have been able to finance crucial expert reports like the one for the Hercules plane crash in Magallanes. We needed an independent report because the only one available was from the Chilean Air Force, the owner of the crashed plane,” he detailed.
The prosecutor emphasized that the budget reduction limits the institution's ability to combat serious crimes. “The cut is very significant and directly affects the Prosecutor's Office's operations. It is necessary to protect our budget to continue with complex investigations that require broad management flexibility,” Valencia said.
Regarding the Executive's decision, the National Prosecutor was categorical: “It is up to the authorities making these decisions to explain why the cut was made. But what is clear is that this directly impacts the fight against organized crime.”
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