The vacations taken by the president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, and 20 of his 23 ministers one month before the end of his mandate have sparked a strong controversy in the country, where they are criticized for a supposed “neglect of duties”. The controversy is stimulated by the proximity of the beginning of the process of transfer of powers to the Executive of the leftist Gabriel Boric, which will begin on February 21 and will end on March 11 with the inauguration. What’s more Chile is shaken by a blockade of routes of independent truckers in the north and south of the country in rejection of the murder of one of their driversdespite the fact that the government decreed a state of emergency in four provinces for the migratory crisis in the north of the country and other security measures required by the unions.
The justification of the Chilean government
Piñera himself began his break on February 1st for a period of two and a half weeks, although he has participated in some activities during his days off. According to sources from the General Secretariat of the Presidency (Segpres), only three ministers have not taken vacations: Agriculture, Health and Defense.
The substitute minister of the Segpres, Máximo Pávez, justified that work is being done on the transfer ceremony, the administrative dimension of the transfer of information and the political meetings, which will take place at the end of February. And he denounced that “curiously, it is criticized that the ministers in office who are ending the government are on vacation and the ministers of the incoming government are also on vacation.”
For his part, the Undersecretary of the Interior, Juan Francisco Galli, stressed that “Chile has been characterized by making the change of command in such a way that there is continuity in the functions of the State.” Piñera will cede power on March 11 to Boric, a deputy and former student leader that will have the first cabinet in America with more women than men and the most leftist since that of the overthrown Salvador Allende (1970-1973).
Foreign Ministry and Interior, the most criticized
The first of the ministers to be criticized was Foreign Minister Andrés Allamandthat he was out of office, on vacation in Spainduring a strong migratory crisis in the north of the country with xenophobic marches, roadblocks and the massive entry of irregular migrants. Allamand resigned from his position on February 2 following several days of questioning for abandonment of duties and two days later he assumed the Ibero-American General Secretariat (Segib).
It also drew criticism the absence of the Minister of the Interior, Rodrigo Delgado, at times of tension in the southern part of the country, where there has been a bitter territorial conflict between forestry companies and Mapuche indigenous people for decades, which has recently experienced an escalation of violence. “It was my job to be a minister and it never occurred to me to take a vacation in February if I would be free in March. I always felt that the responsible thing was to serve until the last day“, declared in that sense Sergio Bitarminister during the mandates of Michelle Bachelet, Ricardo Lagos and Salvador Allende.
Truckers hold roadblocks
Independent truckers continued this Sunday for the third consecutive day the blockades on routes to the north and south of Chile in protest at the death of a colleague on Thursday, despite an agreement reached with the Piñera government that involves militarizing the border areas. In addition, the airline Latam, the main national airline, announced that it maintains the suspension of several flights as a result of cuts in access to airports in northern Chile.
“The blockade does not end. Until the leaders tell us, it continues”said drivers on their trucks that blocked the main route in Iquique, in scenes that are repeated in several sections until near Santiago and in the south of the country.
The government reached an agreement on Saturday with 17 truckers’ unions to guarantee greater security on the route, especially in the north, where they denounce that robberies and attacks have increased in the midst of a complex immigration situation. The agreement involves a “state of exception” starting this Monday to deploy soldiers and aid in equipment in border areas of four provinces from the Antofagasta and Arica regions.
After this agreement, the truckers’ unions announced the end of the blockades that began with calls once morest irregular migration. Since the end of 2020, thousands of migrants have entered Chile through clandestine steps in the north of the country, mostly from Venezuela, who have settled in tents or squares or drift asking for help.
It was on a route that connects these areas with the mining city of Antofagasta where on Thursday a young Chilean truck driver died following an alleged confrontation with foreign citizens who threw stones at the trucks to take them. The police arrested three Venezuelans following the incident.
This new incident increased the tension installed for months in the large cities of northern Chile, also bordering Peru. At least 20 migrants have died in the clandestine steps at more than four thousand meters of height and extreme temperatures when they cross at night.
