Sebastián Vallebona assumes the Undersecretariat of Finance following the resignation of Rodríguez Oyarzún

The President of the Republic, José Antonio Kast Rist, appointed Sebastián Vallebona Espinosa to the position of Undersecretary of Finance, effective as of August 10, 2026. The appointment was formalized through Supreme Decree No. 707, dated August 10, 2026, from the Ministry of Finance, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,555 on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, Section I (General Norms), with official reference CVE 2869948. The same issue of the bulletin contains Supreme Decree No. 656, dated July 24, 2026, which accepts the voluntary resignation of the person who held the position, Juan Pablo Rodríguez Oyarzún (CVE 2869914).

The appointment decree

Decree No. 707 is issued by virtue of Article 32 No. 7 of the Political Constitution of the Republic and Articles 24 and 40 of DFL No. 1/19,653, of 2000, from the Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency, which establishes the consolidated text of Law No. 18,575, Constitutional Organic Law on General Bases of State Administration. The regulation also invokes Article 16 of Law No. 18,827, Articles 4 and 16 of DFL No. 29, of 2004, from the Ministry of Finance (Administrative Statute), the aforementioned Supreme Decree No. 656, Supreme Decree No. 38, dated March 11, 2026, from the Ministry of the Interior, and Resolution No. 36, of 2024, from the Comptroller General of the Republic.

The terms of the appointment are as follows:

• Position: Undersecretary of Finance, from the Government Authorities Scale, grade C of the Single Salary Scale of the Secretariat and General Administration of the Ministry of Finance.
• Appointed person: Sebastián Vallebona Espinosa, RUT No. 16,658,181-8.
• Effective date: as of August 10, 2026.
• Immediate assumption: for urgent reasons of good service, he shall assume his duties without waiting for the full processing of the supreme decree.
• Financing: the expenditure is charged to the Budget of the Secretariat and General Administration of the Ministry of Finance, code 08 01 01 21 01 001.

The vacancy left by the resignation

Supreme Decree No. 656, dated July 24, 2026, accepted the voluntary resignation submitted by Juan Pablo Rodríguez Oyarzún, RUT No. 17,354,096-5, in the same position and grade, effective as of July 24, 2026. The resolution is based on Articles 146 letter a) and 147 of DFL No. 29, of 2004, from the Ministry of Finance, and Supreme Decree No. 252, dated March 11, 2026, from the Ministry of Finance. The decree expressly states that the resigning party was not subject to any administrative summary proceedings.

Both decrees bear the signature of President José Antonio Kast Rist and the Minister of Finance, Jorge Antonio Quiroz Castro, and were transcribed by Vallebona Espinosa himself in his capacity as Undersecretary of Finance.

Presence in Fiscal Leadership

Since taking office, Vallebona Espinosa has signed, as Undersecretary of Finance, the transcriptions of decrees published in the Official Gazette, including Supreme Decree No. 486, dated June 8, 2026, which establishes the bases of fiscal policy pursuant to Article 1 of Law No. 20,128 on Fiscal Responsibility (CVE 2870356). That text sets a structural deficit target of 2.6% of GDP in 2026, 1.8% in 2027, 1.7% in 2028, 1.6% in 2029, and 1.5% in 2030, along with a Central Government gross debt anchor of 45% of GDP. On September 16, 2026, he also signed, as Acting Minister of Finance, Exempt Decree No. 266, which determines the variable component of the specific fuel tax under Law No. 18,502 (CVE 2873683).

The transition in the Undersecretariat of Finance is significant because that unit signs and processes decrees regarding spending, taxes, and the country’s fiscal policy, and because the new head has already exercised the acting role of the Ministry of Finance. The simultaneous publication of the appointment and the resignation formally closes the vacancy opened on July 24 and ensures continuity in the management of public finances during the final stretch of the 2026 budget execution.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, no. 44,555, Tuesday, September 22, 2026, Section I (General Norms), page 1 (official reference: CVE 2869948).