Deputy Unfurls Sign Protesting Health Cuts

Sebastián Videla raised a handwritten protest sign inside Chile’s Congress on June 1 during President José Antonio Kast’s first Cuenta Pública, drawing attention to a dispute over health spending. The independent deputy from Antofagasta displayed a sheet reading “No a los recortes de salud” as Kast delivered his annual address, according to 24 Horas and T13. The message appeared on the official congressional broadcast for a few seconds during the speech. Videla later reposted the image on social media and tied the protest to health funding and public security in northern Chile. ### How did the protest happen during the speech? 24 Horas reported the protest happened shortly after 12:10 p.m., minutes after Kast’s address began at noon. The outlet said Videla, an independent lawmaker aligned with the Socialist, Liberal and Radical caucus, held up the sign from his seat while the president was speaking. (24horas.cl) T13 said the official transmission captured the paper as Kast was speaking about his travels around the country in the first weeks of his administration. The sign was visible only briefly, but the wording was legible on camera, the broadcaster reported. ### What exactly did Sebastián Videla’s sign say? (24horas.cl) The sign said, “No a los recortes de salud,” according to both 24 Horas and T13. The phrase directly referenced budget cuts affecting the health sector, an issue that had already become a point of friction ahead of Kast’s June 1 address. Videla wrote on social media after the appearance: “En la Cuenta Pública, presidente Kast: no a los recortes en salud y exigimos seguridad real para nuestra gente. (t13.cl) Seguimos sacando la voz por nuestro norte.” That post linked the protest to concerns he said were affecting his region. ### Why was health spending the issue he chose? (24horas.cl) The Clinic reported on May 15 that the Kast administration had ordered a broad fiscal adjustment across ministries and that the Health Ministry faced the largest cut in peso terms. The outlet said health spending was reduced by 2.5%, equivalent to 413 billion pesos, as part of a wider package of cuts that it calculated at more than $1.4 billion. (24horas.cl) The same report said the reductions fell heavily on health networks and hospitals, making the issue politically sensitive before the president’s first national address. That broader budget dispute helps explain why Videla used the televised event to focus on health rather than another issue. (theclinic.cl) ### Who is Videla in Chile’s Congress? T13 identified Videla as a deputy from Antofagasta and said he is 40 years old and serving his second consecutive term in Congress. The broadcaster said he represents the third district and sits on the permanent committees for Mining and Energy and for Culture, Arts and Communications. (theclinic.cl) 24 Horas described him as an independent deputy within the Socialist, Liberal and Radical bloc. That positioning placed the protest inside a broader opposition critique of the government’s fiscal decisions, even though the act itself was carried out by a single lawmaker during the live ceremony. (t13.cl) ### Did anyone else raise the same issue that day? FENATS Nacional, the public health workers’ union, posted on X after the speech began that the Cuenta Pública should not become “una lista de supermercado sin fin” and called for concrete measures to strengthen public health and end the cuts. 24 Horas included that statement alongside its report on Videla’s protest. (24horas.cl) The government’s own announcement before the event said Kast would use the June 1 address to present progress from his first months in office and outline the main projects his administration plans to pursue. The speech began at 12 p.m. through the official transmission, which is also where Videla’s sign was seen. (24horas.cl) June 1 was Kast’s first Cuenta Pública as president, according to the government notice published on May 26. The official broadcast and follow-up coverage from Chilean outlets remain the primary public record of the brief protest and the health-funding dispute that surfaced during the address. (gob.cl)