Chile Court narrows pro-capex reform but preserves its core

Research evidence excerpt

J P M O R G A N

Latin America Economic Research

17 August 2026

Chile

Court narrows pro-capex reform but preserves its core

Chile's Constitutional Court (TC) last week ruled on three consolidated challenges

filed by opposition lawmakers against the Kast administration's flagship economic

package, the Ley de Reconstrucción Nacional y Desarrollo Económico y Social

(see note). The Court partially upheld the challenges, striking down provisions that

would have granted fiscal compensation for annulled environmental permits,

narrowing the tax-stability regime at the center of the bill's investment framework,

and removing several sector-specific clauses related to aquaculture concessions

and environmental review. The rest of the package survived intact, including the

corporate tax cut from 27% to 23%, the VAT exemption for home purchases, and

most of the tax-stability regime.

The ruling represents a setback for the administration, but not a fundamental one.

Both government and opposition lawmakers characterized the decision as a partial

victory, and markets appear to view it similarly. The reform's core architecture

remains intact, even if some of its more ambitious provisions have been pared back.

What the Court struck down

The Court invalidated two sets of provisions outright. First, Articles 12 and 13,

which dealt with environmental indemnification. The clauses would have entitled

project developers to compensation from the state if a Resolución de Calificación

Ambiental (RCA), Chile's environmental permit, was annulled by a final court

ruling. The Court declared both articles unconstitutional in their entirety. As a

result, investors whose permits are later overturned by the courts will no longer be

able to seek compensation from the Treasury for sunk costs.

Second, the Court struck portions of Article 5, governing aquaculture relocations,

and Article 11(4), which amended environmental-review procedures. Specifically,

it removed the concept of micro-relocalización, struck an entire subsection of the

aquaculture-concessions reform, and eliminated part of the amendment to Article

20 of Chile's environmental framework law (Law 19,300). These changes are

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