Chile Presidential Race Kicks Off With Cabinet Shuffle

While the elections in the United States have come to an end, Chile’s presidential race is just beginning, despite the fact that Chileans have more than a year to go before they head to the polls. La Tercera reports that President Sebastian Piñera announced changes to his cabinet on Monday in order to allow two ministers with presidential aspirations to step down. 

Public Works Minister Laurence Golborne and Defense Minister Andres Allamand both declared they would be resigning in order to prepare for the November 17, 2013 elections. Reuters notes that the two are seen as “the right's best chance to retain the presidency” in the face of widespread discontent with the Piñera administration and the ruling conservative coalition, the Alliance for Chile. Right-wing parties in the country were roundly defeated by liberal and leftist candidates in recent local elections, and opinion surveys show Piñera has a 27 percent approval rating, the lowest of any president since the country’s return to democracy in 1990.

Golborne, who gained national fame for his role in the rescue of 33 trapped miners in 2010, has a decisive edge over Allamand, with polls showing the former leading by 9 percent to 3 percent. Both are trailing the presumed Concertacion nomination, former president Michelle Bachelet, who currently has a 50 percent approval rating although she has not yet officially declared her candicacy. Even if Bachelet does decide to run, however, her victory is not necessarily guaranteed. Some 60 percent of Chileans abstained from voting in the recent elections, a sign that mnay in the country may be fed up with traditional politicians on both the left and right.

Considering Piñera’s overwhelming unpopularity, Golborne’s chances at victory likely ride on on him distancing himself from the president and his controversial economic policies. In an interview with La Tercera, Golborne said that Piñera’s emphasis on development in strict macroeconomic terms was “a tremendous error,” stressing the importance of a more holistic view of economic progress. “People don’t just aspire to a greater GDP, but to a more humane and supportive society. You don’t just do things based on a government programme written in an institute, inside four walls; you have to listen to the aspirations of real people and speak truthfully,” he said.

As the Financial Times notes, this is likely at least partially in reference to fallout from allegations that the Piñera administration fudged its poverty statistics in order to make it look as if the country’s poverty rate had fallen rather than stagnated. 

News Briefs

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