President Gabriel Boric took stock of his first nine months of work at the helm of the Government. He addressed the successes and failures of his management.
The president of the Republic, Gabriel Boric, reviewed his first nine months at the head of the Government. The President addressed the effects of the rejection of the New Constitution proposal; he also spoke of the problems in the region of La Araucanía; on the withdrawals of funds from the AFPs and the pension reform; the election of the National Prosecutor, in addition to the political contingency, among other issues.
In interview with the Financial DiaryBoric said that “in my ideal world I would have liked another model more similar to the one from the last convention, but that process failed and not only the 155 constituents, we failed as a society in that and the society rejected that project. Therefore, the fact that we can give it continuity is the most valuable thing”.
Regarding the role of the Government in the constitutional discussion, he commented that “I do not pretend to be a leading actor in the constituent process. The role of the government is to govern. And the best way to collaborate in the constituent process is in security challenges, rising costs of living, pensions”.
About the choice of National Prosecutor and the failed nominationsPresident Boric acknowledged that the matter worries him.
“We are talking regarding what worries citizens the most -security- and all the institutions are not capable of reaching an agreement in order to offer solutions; Finally, the trust that is already weakened in the institutions themselves ends up cracking. That is why I ask the Senate to have responsibility regarding this issue and we can make decisions together“, said.
Regretful of the first approach to La Arucania
President Gabriel Boric acknowledged that he is sorry for his first approach to La Araucanía. “And in this, I insist, I do not hold ex-minister Siches responsible, it is a shared responsibility. I have the best opinion of the ex-minister Siches and I insist, I hope that we will work together once more soon ”, she maintained.
Regarding the withdrawals from pension funds, he said that “the discussion -for the withdrawals- was very damaging. That resource, which should be totally rare, spread too far and caused damage. And in this, being responsible in the long term, attending to current emergencies, is a difficult balance, but one that we have to find”, he added.
Along these lines, he stated that he was sorry. “in the third and fourth -withdrawal-. I think it is a door that must be closed, because it does a lot of damage, not to the economy as an abstract, it does a lot of damage to the people who need the most”.
Proud of Zero Copay
On the other hand, the President addressed the positive aspects of his administration. “I am very proud to have achieved, thanks to responsible planning and intersectoral coordination, Total free healthcare in the public system with the Zero Copayment program”.
“Also that we have managed to recover social dialogue: important proposals such as the minimum wage had the agreement not only of the CUT, but also of large companies and SMEs,” he added.
“During state visits, they have made me aware of the tremendous appreciation that exists at the international level of our country and of the hopes placed in the process that we are carrying out. (…) in that there is something to take care of, the international image of the country is projected in those things”, closed the president Gabriel Boric.
