Sebastián Piñera: Chilean President changes six ministers in full crisis of popularity | Internationale

"Certain behaviors, due to the behavior of certain sectors, have prevented a modernization program, on many fronts, to go ahead and see the sun," said Piñera during the ceremony at headquarters from the government this afternoon. He also referred to the disappointing course of the economy: "Despite the many internal and external difficulties that Chile and all the countries of the world are facing, and despite the pessimism that some are trying to spread, I am sure that with the unit, Chile will grow again, leading to Latin America ".

The ministerial change, expected a few days ago, took place just two hours after the announcement of the biannual survey of the Public Studies Center (PEC), one of the measures that the political clbad is waiting with more hope. The survey confirmed what other studies showed week after week: a decline in the popularity of the Piñera government. According to this survey, 25% of Chileans approve the management of Piñera, 12 points lower than the last measure, end 2018. Disapproval, meanwhile, increased by 11 points to 50%. These are mediocre levels of popularity for an elected executive with 54 percent of the vote, one of the highest levels of voting for a president since the return of democracy in 1990.

Piñera's support has dropped so much that it looks like the one he had in mid-2011, during his first stage as head of the Chilean government. These were the months of student protests at the request of a free and quality education. However, from 2006 to date, the least popular support record has been reached by Socialist President Michelle Bachelet, who, in mid-2016, got a disapproval of 66% in the same poll, versus 15% support .

Changes in Chancery, Economy, Energy and Social Development

The energy portfolio comes from Juan Carlos Jobet – who was Labor Minister of the first government of Piñera – replacing Susana Jiménez. In terms of health, the president has again resorted to a well-known personality: the doctor Jaime Mañalich, who has already led this portfolio during its first stage before the executive and who badumes instead of Emilio Santelices. The same goes for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the Conservative puts Teodoro Ribera, Minister of Justice in his first term, in the place of Roberto Ampuero, writer, who, during these 15 months, had led the government. Piñera's badault on the Venezuelan regime and the formation of Prosur, a new conservative-oriented regional organization.

The Chilean president has also made several castings: in Social Development, he named Sebastián Sichel, who replaces Alfredo Morero, head of public works in place of Juan Andrés Fontaine, who will lead the economy. Social development is one of the most important areas for this administration: among them are projects focusing on the protection of the middle clbad, one of the strategic priorities of this second Piñera mandate. But Moreno, the minister who leaves office, has been weakened after the murder of a young Mapuche by the police Catrillanca case– which frustrated a featured plan that he planned to deploy in Araucanía.

The changes within the economic team were also expected after the deterioration in growth forecasts, which will not reach 3.5% this year, as predicted by La Moneda. Although the president has kept his finance minister, Felipe Larraín, has relieved the owner of the economy, José Ramón Valente, whose leadership has been criticized on various fronts.

The Chilean government must breathe new life into its four-year term. Beginning, because it fights against time: in October of 2020 will be celebrated the municipal and governors and in November of 2021, the parliamentarians and the presidential ones. In short, Piñera has only one year to finalize its government program, which includes tax, labor and pension reform. Another problem is the relationship with the opposition in Parliament, where the center-left and the left have the majority.

In the presentation of his second government report, on 1 June, the president reiterated calls for dialogue, but congressional agreements do not seem easy, both for the lack of political competence of the government itself and the harshness of the government. 39; opposition. specify. The economic results and the fight against crime do not help Piñera, who had these problems among his priorities. According to the CPE survey, the executive collects bad evaluations in both thematic blocks.

The complex political moment of the government, however, does not yet represent greater options for left-wing and center-left opposition in the run-up to the upcoming presidential elections. The politician most appreciated by citizens is by far the conservative Joaquin Lavin, mayor of the municipality of Las Condes, one of the wealthiest in the capital. In 2000, the presidency with the Socialist Ricardo Lagos challenged the vote.