Boric bets on a diverse cabinet to reform Chile

Former student leaders, technocrats and regional representatives will be part of the moderate ministerial cabinet announced by the president-elect of Chile, Gabriel Boric, with which he will seek to promote the profound reforms he has promised in the world’s largest copper producer.

The diverse ministerial train, with a majority of women, will have to deal with an economy that shows signs of overheating and with strong inflationary pressures, while it needs to raise more resources to attend to the ambitious social improvements contemplated in the government program.

“We believe that striking a balance between increasing social spending and achieving the fiscal consolidation necessary to stabilize the debt burden will be challenging,” Fitch said in a note. “The ongoing constitutional reform is also likely to put pressure on the fiscal accounts,” he added.

With seven appointees under the age of 40 and a third of independents, the 35-year-old president described his cabinet as “diverse,” with people from different backgrounds and backgrounds.

“This cabinet has the mission of laying the foundations for the great reforms that we have proposed to carry out in our program,” he said after announcing the names of his future ministers on Friday.

Camila Vallejo and Giorgio Jackson, also former leaders of the student protests that shook the country in 2011, will reach the key positions of government spokesperson and relations with Congress as of March 11.

“This government will have the great challenge of linking other forces to have the necessary correlation that allows us to carry out the reforms proposed by the program,” said Deputy Karol Cariola, also a former student leader and member of the Communist Party who is part of the future governing coalition, which will not have a parliamentary majority.

In Defense, Boric appointed the socialist deputy Maya Fernández, granddaughter of Salvador Allende, the president overthrown in the 1973 military coup. The Environment portfolio will be in the hands of the expert in the area Maisa Rojas, one of the authors of the last report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in August 2021.

On the other hand, in the Ministry of the Interior, Boric appointed his ally and campaign manager, the internist doctor Izkia Siches, who will be the first woman to hold that position after high public participation as president of the Medical College during the COVID pandemic. -19.

“The pressure point is Interior. With violence, crime, migration and conflict (in the) southern macrozone, what Siches does or does not do will be decisive for the government’s stability,” said Kenneth Bunker, director of the Tresquintos consulting firm, on his Twitter account.

Moderate reaches public finance

In recent days, speculation began about the arrival of the respected economist Mario Marcel, who has been at the head of the governing body since 2016, at the Treasury office, which was greeted by the financial markets.

“The appointment of people like Marcel comes to strengthen the idea that it is a process of change, but not sudden, but slow. It makes more sense in the sense that radical changes are much more complex,” said Miguel Angel López, professor at the University of Chile.

Marcel, a moderate expert who is linked to the Socialist Party, although without militancy, will have among his challenges to promote a tax reform promised by Boric.

“We take on with great affection and energy the challenge of consolidating the recovery of our economy without reproducing its structural inequalities. We are talking about sustainable growth accompanied by a fair redistribution of wealth”, Boric commented during the announcement.

Some analysts have pointed out differences between the members of the coalition that will govern, such as the strong criticism launched by the Communist Party against Marcel during the debates on partial withdrawals of savings in pension funds.

“The central and fundamental thing is the full conviction and unrestricted commitment to carry out the government program,” Vallejo said when asked about the issue.

On the other hand, Marcela Hernando, former mayor and parliamentarian of the Radical Party of the northern and mining region of Antofagasta, was appointed as Minister of Mining.

The National Mining Society (Sonami), which brings together the vital sector of the world’s largest copper producer, celebrated the appointments of Marcel and Hernando.

“Our sector is available to collaborate in the challenges of the sector, especially in times when mining is facing a highly competitive international scenario and a key situation for its future,” said Diego Hernández, president of Sonami.