An effective and efficient State of Chile, a necessity for National Security

The time has come for an effective and efficient State, the time for systems and processes, for purposes and objectives, for meeting goals, for control and audits, and why not, for a good and timely National Intelligence System.

The government of the President José Antonio Kast declares two basic and fundamental priorities: the recovery of the economy and public safety. The first is addressed through the project of the “Law for National Reconstruction and Economic and Social Development,” and the second through the multiple actions, initiatives, programs, and plans that Minister Martín Arrau and his team, the police, Gendarmerie, and many others are vigorously developing.

There is an additional issue that, as the first days of government pass, should become the third major priority of the current administration: the effectiveness and efficiency with which the Chilean State operates. Cases like Operation Tokyo or that of the supposedly unaccounted Haitian children make it clear that not only is the Chilean State large and costly, meaning inefficient, but also ineffective when it comes to fulfilling its most basic obligations, the security and protection it must provide to all Chileans and those who inhabit the territory of the republic. “Sad but true,” but that is the reality.

Chile is, for all intents and purposes, a welfare state, a poor idea copied from Europeans, which was locally promoted by the center-left and center-right, and which has not been changed by the government that began in March 2026, with no immediate initiatives visible to reduce its size and cost. About 60% of the national budget for 2026 could be categorized as social, that is, health, education, pensions, housing, and social development, while dedicating only slightly less than 5% to fundamental aspects such as public safety and national defense.

It is clear, and politicians are aware, that the income base cannot handle the current operating expenses, requiring even debt to meet obligations in education, health, and pensions. No one wants Chileans to go without food, health, education, and pensions, but this cannot come at the cost of debt and the right to public safety, a right that citizens delegate to the democratically elected government in the social contract. For now, in the absence of political will to review the size and cost of social spending, what remains is to seek to be more efficient with what we have, and to avoid waste of public funds, as is the case with collecting unpaid debts for CAE and scholarships to study abroad.

It is understood that the issue of State efficiency is important, but that its work requires time and focus that the government often lacks when emergencies and contingencies dominate. However, this does not imply that, regardless of the size of the State, there should not be a concern for the State we have to function and be effective. We know that this was not a concern of the government we had from March 2022 to March 2026, but after learning about cases of money laundering and missing children, we cannot fail to take action to ensure that at least its actions are effective.

Engineers will understand. The structure of the State is not designed around processes or systems but with legal-administrative logic. Apparently, all the state agencies and institutions related to the case of the Haitian children would have fulfilled what was expected of them, but despite that, from an initial sample of 105, only 41 were found, requiring extraordinary efforts to locate another 52 a week after the preliminary report from the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) was known. Chile is the champion of reaction, but it is not always capable of making things work well from the start. Who is in charge of the process of bringing children into Chile under the logic of family reunification? This is something I still do not have clear, but all indications suggest it should be the National Migration Service under the Ministry of the Interior, which, after all the chaos that ensued, still does not assume its responsibility, making it even less understandable that the Minister of Social Development is asked to lead efforts to find the missing children or to ensure that the 19,141 family reunification visas were properly granted, and that all recipients of them are alive, healthy, and safe.

If we do not ask the owner of the process to take charge of the problem, we are doing a disservice. Not everything that does not work in Chile should be assigned to the star ministers of the government. If we do this, the rest of the agencies and institutions will never improve the effectiveness of the processes they are responsible for. “Food for thought” for the team on the second floor of La Moneda.

The case of Operation Tokyo is another case that demonstrates that our processes are ineffective and that the systems do not produce positive results. The only thing achieved with Operation Tokyo was, besides knowing that we had been defrauded of US$80 million, to arrest and formally charge approximately twenty people, seizing no more than 0.5% of the laundered funds through the banking system, despite the reports of suspicious operations (ROS) sent by the affected banks, which were subsequently forwarded by the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) to the Public Ministry, some even before a cell phone was seized in 2024 at the site of the murder of five people on the outskirts of Santiago, in Lampa.

By effective processes in public safety, I refer to those that eliminate the capabilities of organized crime to collect or launder money. I also refer to police processes that prevent the occurrence of crimes. Being effective in public safety means getting into the criminal’s pocket or preventing murders, thefts, damage to public or private property, and so on.

Not everything is bad, and we have some good examples to follow. The seizure of approximately 108 tons of drugs embedded in wood (ketamine and cocaine) in Arica a couple of weeks ago is a demonstration of effectiveness. The drug trafficker stopped earning several billion dollars, something they dislike and hurts them, which is not the same as arresting people they can quickly replace.

Every ministry, institution, or agency of the State of Chile must be clear about its purpose, and therefore, what is expected in terms of results, effectiveness, and compliance with objectives and goals. The same applies to the systems or processes they manage. Perhaps we should ask the CGR that, in addition to auditing the use of resources and the legality of actions, it ensures that they know their purpose and whether their actions align with it.

The column by Gerardo Varela in the report section of El Mercurio on Sunday, June 21, accurately reflects what I indicate. Gerardo attributes much of the state inefficacy and inefficiency to its monopoly condition, a condition that is unusual in the private sector, which, due to being compelled to compete, cannot afford the luxuries mentioned earlier, as otherwise, by being ineffective and inefficient, they cease to exist.

Public accounts that focus on what has been done and not on the fulfillment of goals or objectives are not the ones we want to have. Arresting criminals who can be quickly replaced, while positive, loses the effectiveness we seek without the seizure of assets or money.

The minimum we expect is for State services to function, to function well and effectively, and hopefully at a reasonable cost. This includes always knowing where the children coming from Haiti are, that the financial system is not used to launder assets, or that we can go out peacefully at night without fear of being robbed, and that we do not allow criminals to dominate our lives or affect our families. The time has come for an effective and efficient State, the time for systems and processes, for purposes and objectives, for meeting goals, for control and audits, and why not, for a good and timely National Intelligence System.

Having done the above, and hopefully in this government, we dedicate ourselves to efficiency, to reducing spending, and to having the State that we can finance, but always ensuring that effectiveness comes first and efficiency second.