It is the third change since he came to power 17 months ago and it comes five days after his political partner and now former Minister of Social Development, Giorgio Jackson, resigned under pressure from the right-wing opposition.
The replaced ministers were those of Education, Marco Antonio Ávila, who was replaced by Nicolás Cataldo; from Cultures and the Arts, Jaime de Aguirre, replaced by actress Carolina Arredondo, and from National Assets, Javiera Toro, replaced by former deputy Marcela Sandoval.
In addition, he removed the Minister of Mining, Marcela Hernando and appointed Aurora Williams in her place, who held the same portfolio during the second government of former President Michelle Bachelet (2014-2018). In Social Development, she appointed the now ex-minister Javiera Toro to replace Jackson.
The cabinet was made up of 13 women and 11 men.
After swearing in the new ministers, Boric urged them to “advance towards a State, towards a more just society”.
He immediately summarized some of his government’s achievements, among them the increase in the minimum wage, the reduction of the working day from 45 to 40 hours a week and the reduction of poverty in conjunction with the work of previous governments.
Boric seeks to promote the processing of his main reforms, which are the pension and a fiscal pact. The latter is essential to raise funds to finance his public policies and arose after his tax reform was rejected in March.
The president of the opposition National Renovation party, Francisco Chahuán, almost immediately criticized the appointment of a Communist Party militant in charge of the Ministry of Education. Cataldo is a professor of History and Social Sciences who between March and September of last year was undersecretary of the same portfolio, which he also advised between 2015 and 2018.
The modifications take place within the framework of a serious political crisis unleashed in June after irregular transfers of state funds to the Democracia Viva foundation were revealed to carry out work in precarious neighborhoods for which it lacked experience. Some 500,000 dollars were received by members of the Democratic Revolution, a party created by Jackson in 2012.
The case led to investigations by the Public Ministry which, to date, is investigating another 46 foundations involved in similar situations in 11 of the 16 Chilean regions. Transfers for “hundreds of millions of pesos” are being investigated, said the head of the Anti-Corruption Unit of the National Prosecutor’s Office, Eugenio Campos.
“One should not be innocent thinking that they are isolated cases,” he added.
The opposition held the now ex-minister Jackson politically responsible for the Democracia Viva corruption case and interrupted the processing of fundamental projects for the president.
This is the worst crisis Boric has faced because it involves the misuse of public money by people linked to Revolución Democrática, which was the main party in the leftist coalition that led him to the presidential runoff in December last year.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
