The president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, announced this Monday a new “Covid Fund” of 6,000 million dollars to finance social and economic aid to combat the crisis caused by the pandemic.
This fiscal program, which represents 2% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), will be financed with the higher revenues that the State expects to achieve due to the increase in the price of copper – of which it is the largest producer in the world – and by the State Economic and Social Stabilization Fund.
The new fund extends and strengthens the existing one, created by the government last year for a value of 12,000 million dollars, for which the aid program established to date amounts to a total of 18,000 million dollars.
“The magnitude and extent of the pandemic and global recession continue to hit Chilean families hard, which makes it necessary to increase the support and help provided by our Social Protection Network,” said the president through a national network.
Through this Social Protection Network, the government has been delivering food baskets, aid to the most disadvantaged families, bonds to the middle class and unemployment benefits, among other aid, items that it now seeks to strengthen with this new contribution of 6,000 millions of dollars.
Piñera announced an extension until June of the so-called Emergency Family Income, with which it is intended to reach more than nine million disadvantaged people.
This aid will provide 100,000 pesos per month (about $ 140) for each member of the family group for those who live in sectors that have been in quarantine for 14 days or more, the amount being progressively lower for those who live in places with fewer sanitary restrictions.
He also announced some modifications to the aid to the middle class that he unveiled at the beginning of the month and that establish a bonus of up to 500,000 pesos (about $ 700) for people who have incomes of up to two million pesos (about $ 2,790).
gs (efe, Xinhua)
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