Chile’s rising living costs put pressure on its beloved completo hot dogs

At lunchtime near Plaza de Armas in downtown Santiago, businesses continue to serve completos, Chile’s long-standing take on the hot dog. The dish, created in a small downtown shop in the early 1930s, combines a sausage with sauerkraut, tomato and homemade potato-based mayonnaise; avocado and other ingredients were added over time. It has long been an affordable option across social classes.

That affordability is under strain as living costs rise and the economy weakens. Student Antonia Bravo, 21, said a completo that recently cost 2,500 pesos ($2.60) now costs 3,500 or 4,000 pesos ($3.60 or $4.10). Chile’s monthly basic food basket cost just under $100 in August, up 5% from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Social Development. The monthly minimum wage is about $580.

Official figures released this month showed Chile on the brink of recession after two consecutive quarters of economic contraction. Unemployment reached 9.5%, its highest level in five years, while annual inflation accelerated to 4.1% over the past 12 months as food and transportation prices rose. The Central Bank cut its 2026 growth forecast from 1%–1.75% to 0.25%–0.75%. Central Bank President Rosanna Costa said the current weakness could prove more persistent than expected.

Rising fuel prices linked to the U.S.-Iran war have added to the pressure. Costa said the combined effects feed inflation, erode household purchasing power and weaken confidence. Teacher Mauricio Aravena, 30, said basic-product prices keep climbing while pay increases fail to keep pace. Teacher Tabata Martinich, 31, said she and friends now go out less often and cook at home more.

Since taking office in March, President José Antonio Kast has pursued an economic recovery agenda intended to increase investment and employment. He recently acknowledged that inflation is higher than expected and growth lower than projected. At a Tuesday meeting with ministers and governing-coalition party leaders, he directed his team to prepare a “labour emergency plan” for presentation in coming weeks, without providing details.

The proposed plan follows other recently announced measures, including an economic and tax overhaul approved by Congress but not yet ratified while the Constitutional Court reviews opposition complaints. The reform would include tax cuts for large corporations, eliminate double taxation to encourage private investment, provide financial compensation to companies whose projects are rejected over environmental concerns, establish a right to financial oblivion for old debts in new credit assessments, and prohibit interest on interest. Analyst Guillermo Holzmann said worsening conditions are forcing the Kast administration to turn medium- and long-term initiatives into measures that directly affect household finances.