Law 21,846 creates the Teletón Day and the Family Encounter

The Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile published this Thursday, November 5, 2026, in its issue no. 44,591, Law No. 21,846, which establishes the National Teletón Day and the National Family Gathering Day. The regulation appears in Section I, under the heading General Regulations of the Ministry of Social Development and Family, with the official reference CVE 2898174. The text was promulgated on October 29, 2026, by the President of the Republic, José Antonio Kast Rist, along with Minister María Jesús Wulf Le May.

The publication is limited to four articles and does not provide for specific funding or the creation of new agencies. The Executive submitted it to the Bulletin with the usual sanction formula, after stating that the National Congress gave its approval to the project, and its knowledge was the responsibility of the Undersecretary of Social Evaluation (S), Francisco Ramírez Gómez.

The two commemorative dates

The calendar is defined by two linked rules, both of annual application and national scope:

• The first Saturday of the month of November of each year commemorates National Teletón Day, according to Article 1.
• The immediately following and consecutive Sunday to that date commemorates National Family Gathering Day, according to Article 2.

Under this rule, in 2026—a year in which November 1 fell on a Sunday—National Teletón Day corresponds to Saturday, November 7, and National Family Gathering Day to Sunday, November 8.

The displacement rule

Article 3 incorporates an express exception for years in which the calendar inconveniences the commemoration: if November 1 falls on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, both commemorations shall take place on the immediately following weekend.

This provision thus prevents the two days from being adjacent to the All Saints’ Day holiday and ensures that the commemoration always takes place on a full weekend, with Saturday dedicated to the Teletón and Sunday to the Family Gathering.

Dissemination by the Ministry

Article 4 assigns the promotion of both dates to the Ministry of Social Development and Family, which must promote their dissemination and public awareness “within the framework of its powers and budgetary availability.”

This is a limited promotion mandate: the law does not set allocations, deadlines, or obligations for other public services, and subjects the dissemination activity to the resources that the ministry already has planned.

Processing and signatures

The law was sanctioned in Santiago on October 29, 2026, and endorsed by the following authorities:

• José Antonio Kast Rist, President of the Republic.
• María Jesús Wulf Le May, Minister of Social Development and Family.
• José García Ruminot, Minister Secretary General of the Presidency.
• Francisco Ramírez Gómez, Undersecretary of Social Evaluation (S), in charge of the transcription.

The document features an advanced electronic signature and time stamp in accordance with Law No. 19,799, as stated by the Bulletin itself.

Law No. 21,846 gives legal status to a commemoration that until now depended on annual practice: by establishing in writing the first Saturday of November and the following Sunday, the calendar for the Teletón and the Family Encounter is protected from changes in government or criteria, and assigns a permanent dissemination task to the Ministry of Social Development and Family. For readers, the immediate practical consequence is that the two dates for 2026 already have an official date: November 7 and 8.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, no. 44,591, Thursday, November 5, 2026, Section I (General Norms), p. 1 (official reference: CVE 2898174).