In a confusing ceremony delayed due to controversial appointments, President Gabriel Boric made his first cabinet change, favoring center-left ministers and technical names and raising the average age of the cabinet. In total, there were six exchanges.
Activist colleague and political partner of the president, Giorgio Jackson left the strategic post of secretary general of the Presidency and assumed a second-line post, in the Ministry of Social Development.
Another important change was the departure of Izkia Siches from the Ministry of the Interior, without being replaced. After reading her departure decree, Boric left his desk and went to hug her. Siches was an essential part of his election campaign. After the hug, she returned to her seat in tears.
She will be replaced by Carolina Tohá, 57. From the center-left PPD party and former mayor of Santiago, Tohá is the daughter of José Tohá, former Minister of Interior and vice-president of Salvador Allende’s government. The position of minister of the interior is the most important in the cabinet because, in Chile, it is the first in the line of succession to the president.
The ceremony was controversial and delayed because, at first, the appointment of Nicolás Cataldo, from the Communist Party, to the post of Under-Secretary of the Interior, to which the police forces are responsible, had been announced. The opposition reacted quickly, spreading Cataldo’s tweets against the institution. An hour later, with the ceremony delayed, the appointment was cancelled. Manuel Monsalve, of the Socialist Party, remains in office.
There were demonstrations in front of La Moneda Palace, which were dispersed with tear gas. As the names of the new ministers were announced, it was possible to smell the gas inside the seat of government.
In place of Jackson at the General Secretariat was Ana Lya Uriarte, 60, a socialist, who was former president Michelle Bachelet’s chief of staff (2014-2018). In the Health portfolio, a technical name entered, Ximena Aguilera, a doctor and surgeon with experience of having been a consultant to the WHO, a specialist in epidemiology.
For the energy ministry, Boric chose Diego Pardow, from the same party as the president, Social Convergence. The Ministry of Science was joined by Silvia DÃaz, also from the center-left PPD.
“Changes of cabinet are always hard. This was dramatic, but necessary, in what is one of the most difficult political moments to face,” Boric said in a statement in the courtyard of La Moneda, before taking a photo in front of the new ministry.
Regarding the plebiscite, he stated that “the historical processes that generate great changes are long-term, they do not happen overnight, we cannot forget this lesson of history”. And he added: “Setbacks always occur in long processes. Let’s listen to the voice of the people and walk with the people”.
The changes come two days after a government defeat, when Chilean voters rejected the new Constitution by 62% to 38%. On Monday (5), Boric should have met with the opposition parties to seek an agreement to submit a new proposal for a constitutional process to Congress. The meeting has been adjourned, and will have a new date yet to be announced.
Despite the fact that the main right-wing parties had, on the night of the plebiscite, stated that they were committed to writing a new constitution, they asked for more time to present their proposal to the president.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
