Senator Rodolfo Carter defended the government's modifications to the Fuel Price Stabilization Mechanism (Mepco) amid its policy of cuts and the situation in the Middle East. In a conversation with Radio Infinita, the parliamentarian lamented the context of oil prices and stated: “These are bad news, very bad. What happens is that in Chile we have become accustomed to living off subsidies, to a false sense of security in the face of rising oil prices.
” He indicated that the country is going through “the biggest crisis since 1973” and affirmed that the global situation is “very complex,” comparing it to the pandemic. “Unfortunately, in this situation, the country has no reserves to face this international economic crisis. The previous government spent all the available money for this type of contingency,” he said.
In this scenario, Carter expressed, “We know that there has to be a very difficult equation to solve that will bring bad news regardless. We cannot continue to burden the Chilean treasury with money we do not have. The only alternative would be to further indebt the country in the international system, which ultimately punishes the most vulnerable people.
” The former mayor acknowledged that it is a difficult issue, “that will affect people's pockets, and obviously, having to make this decision just under two weeks into the government will be tough,” but that “it must be made, with a sense of prudence, stability, but definitely understanding that we are facing a crisis that does not depend on Chile.