translated from Spanish: Again the fine print

President Sebastián Piñera’s recent ministerial adjustment can be interpreted in multiple ways, but at least three of them are the most relevant: a pass-through, a backdrop to the parties and, of course, an endorsement of Minister Jaime Mañalich.
The announcement of the delivery of 2.5 million food boxes to vulnerable sectors brought many political and social costs, thus leaving a great opportunity for the Executive to win. In his address on 17 May, the President not only announced this delivery, but also noted that the delivery would begin in a week or two, so in different sectors of the country citizens began to crowd outside municipalities to ask for more information, sparking a new struggle between mayors and the Executive. A second milestone was that five days after this announcement, former Minister Sebastián Sichel pointed out on a radio that the coverage of these boxes would only reach 70% of the poorest 40%, thus desmifying President Piñera live.
The previous uncoordination not only generated a struggle that we know today cost him the position of the Minister of Social Development, but once again brought up the eternal criticism that is made of the current government regarding making lofty announcements, which are subsequently affected by the so-called fine letter. No doubt that reliving these kinds of ghosts and shadows over the government is the least they need, when trying to manage the pandemic has already been enough.
A second interpretation of this adjustment, because it is not a change when only one authority is the one that leaves, is the President’s support for the parties in the face of the opposition’s response to generating a great national agreement. On the one hand, RN manages to incorporate a new member into the political committee, just as the UDI receives an award from President Piñera. The current minister of SEGPRES, Claudio Alvarado, again exercises in the portfolio recognizing his negotiating capacity that he acquired as a deputy for 16 years, who, losing to a fellow listman is awarded a ministry in the first government of Sebastián Piñera. It was important to emphasize that by incorporating both a UDI and RN representative into the political committee, the Chair also avoided the problem of not maintaining the balance between them.
But the big elephant in the room is the recognition and backing up of the Minister of Health, Jaime Mañalich. In a week where not only have peaks of daily contagious and deaths been achieved, but it also finally echoes WHO’s indication of how to count those killed by the pandemic, thus making it clear that for more than two months we did not do so properly;  the health portfolio doesn’t have a single change. The role of Jaime Mañalich has been controversial, because not only has he put the chest of bullets to the government, but he has also gone out to attack critical voices, which is the perfect role of squire that the President needs, because today he protects him, but tomorrow it will also be he who pays the cost of mishandling the pandemic, thus taking care of the figure and legacy of the President , that seems so much to take away his sleep.
The government faces multiple challenges and today decided to prioritize the politician, moving his chips in a way known in chess as the ringing, but that all the rest of the mortals know as the musical chair. This also gives light on what the agenda the government will prioritize: involve some of the opposition in the responsibility of the pandemic and not pay alone the costs of its mistakes and missteps. This is the power of reforming the boundaries to re-election and proximity to multiple elections; save as much as possible with minimal costs today and survive in popular election positions as long as the waters calm down.
 
The content poured into this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.

Original source in Spanish

Related Posts

Add Comment