Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, announced this Friday, March 10, the change of five ministries. An announcement that comes one day after the president celebrates one year in power and shortly after he had one of his biggest defeats in the Chamber of Deputies, that he said “no” to his tax reform proposal. .
It is the second big cabinet change. One day after completing one year in power, Gabriel Boric, the president of Chile, announced the appointment of five new ministers this Friday, March 10.
“I have worked intensely and honestly to serve all citizens without exception,” Boric said at the ceremony. And he added: “We have had difficulties, it is not possible to deny it.”
However, he stated: “Today I look to the future with optimism.”
“The year 2022 was not easy for all Chileans and it was not easy for the government either,” added the president.
He also referred to some challenges that the country was faced with, such as fires and the rise in the cost of living.
He also highlighted what he considered his government’s achievements, such as the fight against crime and the efforts that have been made to end the conflict in the south of the country. Likewise, he stated that “Chile’s fiscal accounts are the best in decades.”
“I have decided to make some changes in my cabinet, in its ministries and its secretariats,” Boric said.
And he added: “What motivates me to make these changes are not political pressures or minor triumphs, the objective of these changes is to improve our response capacity and improve in the face of the challenges that our country faces,” the president said.
Boric makes this decision at a time when his popularity is the worst in his government. The approval rating was 25% in January, although at the beginning of March it reached 35%.
This Wednesday, a project was filed in Congress with which he intended to impose a package of tax reforms in view of the agenda that seeks to expand social rights.
Boris took advantage of his Twitter account to thank the ministers who have accompanied him so far: “I am deeply grateful to the ministers who are leaving their posts, for their work and commitment to making Chile a fairer country. This new team will continue that path, on the ground, listening to those who think differently, to advance in changes and concrete solutions,” he said.
I am deeply grateful to the ministers who are leaving their positions, for their work and commitment to make Chile a fairer country. This new team will continue this path, on the ground, listening to those who think differently, to advance changes and concrete solutions. pic.twitter.com/fUSSStUSWN
—Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) March 10, 2023
New foreign minister
The first to be sworn in for his new position was Alberto Van Klaveren, who will hold the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was Chile’s ambassador to the European Union between 2001 and 2006, former ambassador to Belgium and Chile’s agent to The Hague during the maritime dispute with Peru.
The appointment of Van Klaveren marks a shift to the center left of the Democratic Socialism party, which ruled Chile after the fall of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.
Until now, he was the director of the International Legal and Economic Relations Academic Unit of the Institute of International Studies of the University of Chile.
The management of the outgoing Antonia Urrejola was under public scrutiny after the leak of an audio on January 24 in which she was heard criticizing, along with other Foreign Ministry officials, the Argentine ambassador to Chile, Rafael Bielsa.
The change in this Ministry is profound, since it also affects the two undersecretaries, Ximena Fuentes for Foreign Relations and José Miguel Ahumada for International Economic Relations. The latter was criticized for questioning the country’s foreign trade policy after the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, known as TPP-11.
In addition to them, 13 other undersecretaries of State were removed.
Other incoming and outgoing ministers
Jéssica López was named as the new Minister of Public Works.
For his part, Jaime de Aguirre, businessman and television director, will become the Ministry of Culture.
Jaime Pizarro, one of the figures of Chilean soccer, will take charge of the Ministry of Sport. And Aisén Etcheverry, a lawyer, will lead the Ministry of Science.
Antonia Urrejola (Foreign Relations), Juan Carlos Garcia (Public Works), Julieta Brodsky (Culture), Alexandra Benado (Sports) and Silvia Díaz (Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation) leave the cabinet.
Boric’s decision to change the cabinet comes after a series of controversies and mistakes in his administration, which has forced him to appoint more experienced and centrist politicians.
Political analyst Tech Global says that although the president is turning his policy more towards the center, this may not be enough to solve the problems that his government has.
“I think that the main problem of this government has been political and strategic, not sectoral, and these cabinet changes are sectoral,” Bunker said, adding, “so the problems that the government has with neglect, the times, when Addressing issues or not, such as the tax reform (on Wednesday), they are not going to be solved with this change of cabinet.”
The ministerial change was announced at the Palacio de la Moneda. The ceremony had a significant delay in the time that had been planned. According to multiple local media, it was due to last-minute negotiations.
With EFE and Reuters
