The Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, hinted this Sunday that he will undertake a remodeling of his cabinet in the next few days after the resounding triumph of the “Rejection” in the constituent plebiscite.
“Facing these important and urgent challenges will require prompt adjustments in our government teams to face this new period with renewed vigor,” he said on national television shortly after the result was known.
(Also read: Why did Chileans reject the controversial constitution promoted by Gabriel Boric?)
The possibility of a change in the government had been planned for a few weeks before the forecasts of the polls, which for months had predicted a victory for the “Rejection”, and due to the errors made by some of its ministers.
Despite debuting with more than 50% approval, andhe Cabinet of Boric began to have some setbacks the first days, especially its Minister of the Interior, the doctor Izkia Siches.
Boric himself assured during a cabinet council a month after his inauguration in April that they had “taken off with turbulence.”
(Also: Chile: after rejection, Boric says that he will promote another constituent process)
Siches, the first woman to occupy the powerful Interior portfolio, was one of Boric’s great assets during the campaign, but for many experts it has ended up becoming one of his great burdens, especially after his eventful trip to southern Araucanía and after he accused the previous Administration of irregular deportations, statements for which he later apologized.
The minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency (Segpres) and Boric’s right-hand man, Giorgio Jackson, is another of the names that has received criticism for his management of the relationship between the Executive and the Legislative by the opposition and the sector moderate ruling party.
Another focus was the worsening of the “Mapuche conflict” and the escalation of violence in the area, which is one of the most complex issues that Boric has to deal with and last week he claimed the first casualty in his cabinet.
The former Minister of Social Development Jeannette Vega submitted her resignation a day after the arrest of Héctor Llaitul after it was leaked that one of her advisers contacted the Mapuche leader in May.
Facing these important and urgent challenges will require rapid adjustments in our Government teams.
And it is that this Sunday, more than 13 million voters out of a total of 15.1 million participated in the consultation that meant a severe setback for the government and a new impetus for the ailing Chilean right, whose political leadership reappeared as soon as they were announced. the results.
(You can read: Plebiscite in Chile: this is how the world reacts to the rejection of the new Constitution)
As he had anticipated weeks ago, Boric immediately promised to promote a new constitutional process that will remain in the hands of Congress.
“The Chilean people were not satisfied with the proposed Constitution that the Convention presented to Chile and, therefore, they have decided to clearly reject it at the polls,” said Boric, who called on all political forces for a dialogue, leaving back “maximalisms, violence and intolerance”.
However, although they ratified their will to continue the constitutional process, the leaders of the right-wing coalition “Chile Vamos” declined to attend the first meeting called by the president, considering that the result was a “defeat of the government” and that they They will condition any negotiation.
“Let there be no doubt that this triumph of ‘Rejection’ is a failure of President Gabriel Boric and his entire government. President Gabriel Boric, this defeat is also your defeat,” snapped former far-right presidential candidate José Antonio Kast.
*With information from AFP and EFE
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