The elected president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, unveiled his government on Friday, marked by a strong political plurality, with the appointment of a representative of the moderate left in Finance and a majority of women.
The new government, which will take office on March 11, has 24 ministers, including 14 women and a third of independents.
Eagerly awaited by the markets was the appointment to the finance portfolio which goes to Mario Marcel, the president of the Central Bank, without a label, but linked to the Socialist Party. Mr. Marcel, 62, had already held several positions in various center-left governments.
He was the favorite of the markets who see in this choice a gesture of moderation in the program of economic reforms that the young president wishes to implement, who has promised the establishment of a welfare state in Chile.
The Santiago Stock Exchange welcomed this appointment with a 3% increase. It had fallen by more than 6% the day after the victory of the left-wing candidate with 56% of the vote against the far-right candidate José Antonio Kast.
In addition to Mr. Marcel, the new head of state has appointed other members of the center left, beyond his initial coalition which notably includes the Communist Party and has only 24% of the seats in the National Assembly.
“It is a question of consolidating a parliamentary coalition, which supports the president”, underlined with AFP Marcelo Mella, professor of political sciences at the University of Santiago.
“Dialogue, Listen”
“In this team […] we are accompanied by people of various origins and backgrounds […] a government with a majority of women […] the presence of various regions, generations, with political plurality […] a significant presence of independents and militants of political parties”, summarized Mr. Boric during the presentation from the Natural History Museum of Santiago.
Izkia Siches, the first woman to head the Order of Physicians in 2017, has been appointed Minister of the Interior. Aged 35 like the president, this surgeon has actively participated in the management of the pandemic.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs goes to Antonia Urrejola, a 53-year-old lawyer, who chaired the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Another woman was appointed to Defense: Maya Fernandez, granddaughter of former socialist president Salvador Allende (1970-1973) overthrown by General Augusto Pinochet’s coup.
The average age of the new government is 49 years old. The youngest minister is Antonia Orellana, 32, in charge of the women’s ministry.
Two former student leaders and deputies, Giorgio Jackson and Camila Vallejo, who led high school protests in 2011 alongside Gabriel Boric to demand “public, free and quality education”, were appointed Secretary General of the Presidency and government spokesperson.
Both will be part of the “Political Committee”, a cabinet made up of the president’s closest collaborators. Also taking part will be Izkia Siches, who took the lead in candidate Boric’s campaign for the second round of the presidential election, and Mario Marcel.
The latter, responsible for implementing the tax reform promised by Gabriel Boric to involve the richest in his social program, will have a task all the more complicated as the economic situation is delicate.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) artificially increased by 11.5% in 2021 due to state aid and authorized withdrawals in private retirement savings. According to estimates, growth should be zero by 2023. The country is also plagued by inflation.
“The appointment of Mario Marcel […] who has credibility on the right and in the private sector, is a good starting point for making the very difficult decisions that the president will have to make this year,” said Marcelo Mella.
The President-elect has defined three main axes for his government: managing the pandemic, ensuring economic growth and social inclusion, and ensuring the success of the work of the Constituent Assembly, which will present a draft new fundamental law in mid-2022.
“We need to talk and listen a lot. Listen twice as much as you speak”, launched the Head of State to the future government.