Teacher of Philosophy, graduate in Psychology, militant of the Communist Party since she was 15 years old, staunch opponent of the neoliberal modeland one of the trade unionists with the toughest profile of the last decade in Chile.
(Also read: Why did Chile extend the deadline to write its new Constitution?)
Bárbara Figueroa (42) is a recognized face on the other side of the mountain range. She was the president of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) for almost nine years, she became the first woman at the head of the organization, and from that position she had the visibility to participate in the public debate permanently.
Today, however, her path is different: Figueroa was appointed by President Gabriel Boric as the next Chilean ambassador to Argentina, in a decision that generated widespread repercussions and harsh criticism from the right, today opposition to the government.
A diplomatic position of vital importance considering the relationship that the Head of State has with Alberto Fernández, reflected among other signs in the fact that the Argentina will be the first country to be visited by the Chilean president and that the conflict over the continental shelf, in the extreme south of the country, remains open between both nations.
(You may be interested in: Boric signs Chile’s adherence to the Escazú Agreement in environmental defense)
“It is impossible that the government has appointed Bárbara Figueroa as ambassador to Argentina. It’s stupid. They do it to change the focus of attention and then they will say that it was never true,” the leader of the Republican Party and former presidential candidate, José Antonio Kast, wrote on his Twitter account.
It is impossible that the government has appointed Bárbara Figueroa as Ambassador to Argentina. It’s stupid. They do it to change the focus of attention and then they will say that it was never true.
– José Antonio Kast Rist 🇨🇱 (@joseantoniokast) March 22, 2022
For his part, deputy Diego Schalper, general secretary of the opposition National Renovation party, also gave the decision that came from the political committee of the Palacio de La Moneda a thumbs down.
“A new designation that is not understood. doWhat would be the argument for Bárbara Figueroa of the CUT be Chile’s ambassador in a key country like Argentina? No more improvisation and cuoteo please, “said the legislator.
From other sectors, in addition, they considered the appointment of the former union leader as a return to the Communist Party for its support for Boric during the last presidential elections and lashed out at the more confrontational profile of Figueroa, who has been accused of holding a ” ideologized trade unionism. During the day, even, several videos were also circulated on social networks that they showed her protesting angrily in various demonstrations and in a remembered incident from 2016 when she insulted the then Minister of Finance, Rodrigo Valdés, in Congress
(Also read: Gabriel Boric assumes the presidency of Chile, with a promise of profound change)
In this sense, the period in which Figueroa was in charge of the CUT was also remembered and he was involved in countless clashes with the business community, he confronted the government of Sebastián Piñera for the labor reform project, and he also suffered a strong internal opposition that He blamed it for the current debacle that the Chilean trade union movement is going through, today far from its bases and with little convening power.
Meanwhile, the Association of Career Diplomats (Adica) also expressed its discomfort with the designation. “We deeply regret the ambassadorial nominationss and ambassadors in multilateral organizations, where the maintenance of appointment criteria for reasons of friendship, political closeness or due to the defeat in electoral candidacies is evidenced, ”said the entity in a statement in which it did not mention names.
In defense of the appointment of Bárbara Figueroa
From the communist hosts themselves, however, there was a rejection of the criticism of Figueroa’s appointment and his virtues were extolled to assume the position, the same one that is still waiting to be ratified when the Argentine government accepts his credentials. According to the Chilean newspaper La Tercera, President Boric asked the embassy in Buenos Aires on Monday to initiate the process of the plácet before the Argentine Foreign Ministry.
“I think Bárbara Figueroa is a social leader and politics that has all the conditions to be able to play any role in this country and I find the misogyny that is given regarding questioning the role that a female social and political leader has to be very unfortunate,” said communist deputy Karol Cariola, who stated that “the questioning that has been done” did not correspond.
“Here the definition has to be based on the capabilities that people have and I believe that Bárbara, without a doubt, is a social and political leader with many capabilities and with a long history as the first female president of the CUT,” he added. Cariola.
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