Chile’s government has agreed to a package with some lorry drivers’ leaders that would reduce the price of diesel by 142 pesos per litre, after days of protests over fuel costs. Other transport groups say they will remain mobilised, leaving the dispute only partly resolved.
The agreement announced on Thursday 12 November followed negotiations at the presidential palace in Santiago. It includes a proposed ceiling on fuel prices until 31 March 2027, changes to diesel tax refunds for freight operators and higher toll reimbursements for intercity buses.
Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado announced the understanding alongside Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz and leaders of the Fuerza del Norte and Centro Sur transport confederations. The two organisations said they would end their participation in the stoppage.
The announcement marked a change from talks earlier in the week that had ended without an agreement. It did not, however, mean that every group taking part in the protests had accepted the government’s offer.
What the fuel deal promises
The proposed diesel reduction has two parts. The government would reverse the latest increase of 42 pesos per litre and then make an additional cut of 100 pesos. Together, the changes would bring diesel down by 142 pesos per litre from the price in effect on 12 November.
The package would also reverse a recent increase of 39 pesos per litre in petrol prices. The additional 100-peso reduction applies to diesel, not petrol, a distinction that has become important to groups seeking relief for a wider range of road users.
Alvarado said the government wanted to suspend fuel-price increases until the end of March. Under the proposed ceiling, consumers could still benefit from reductions if international conditions and the pricing formula allowed them. A ceiling is not a promise that the price will never move: if it falls and later rises, it would still have to remain at or below the agreed maximum.
These are commitments rather than proof that the new prices have already taken effect. A bill to reverse the latest increases had been submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, and the government said it hoped legislation would become law the following Tuesday. The timetable depends on the legislative process.
Tax and transport measures
The understanding also provides for higher rates of recovery of the specific diesel tax for road freight companies, depending on their annual turnover. The agreed rates are 90 per cent for the lowest sales band, 65 per cent for the middle band and 50 per cent for the highest.
Those percentages refer to the recovery of a tax, not a discount of the same size on the full price of diesel. The agreement envisages renewing the benefit through 2027.
For intercity passenger buses, the government proposed increasing the proportion of toll charges that can be recovered from 35 per cent to 70 per cent. It also said it would create a working group to discuss further concerns with the sector.
Quiroz estimated the fiscal cost of the package at around US$500 million across 2026 and 2027, with most of it falling in the latter year. He said the government considered the cost manageable within its fiscal objectives. That figure is an official estimate, not a final account of spending.
Some protesters remain on the roads
Protests on 10 November disrupted traffic on Chile’s main north–south highway and access to ports, including Iquique. Drivers were seeking measures to contain rising fuel prices as well as changes to the fuel-price stabilisation mechanism and the tax burden on the sector.
Some major freight confederations that had not joined the stoppage also negotiated with the government and welcomed the terms. A Valparaíso regional federation said it had accepted the offer and would withdraw from the mobilisation.
Other organisations took a different view. The No + TAG movement said it would continue protesting and argued that the extra reduction should extend to petrol as well as diesel. Independent transport operators, including a group in Temuco-Cautín, also rejected the offer and remained mobilised.
The immediate question is therefore not simply whether the government has an agreement, but how widely it will be accepted. The effect on road travel and freight will depend on decisions by the remaining protesters, while the promised price and tax changes must be carried through the relevant legal steps.
