“The President handed the keys to the PPD/PS”

Hello good! Tangled first week of March! But already in our last +Politics We had told our readers that President Boric would not talk about the kidnapping case, that Troy would burn in Congress due to the negotiations for the presidencies of the Senate and the Chamber, and that the former mayor of Santiago Felipe Alessandri (RN) did not want to appear in the capital . This week we have more news!

Deployment of piñerismo. On Thursday there was a tribute to the former president and in the week that has just begun there will be news, because one of his main heirs, the former minister of the General Secretariat of Government Jaime Bellolio, would return to the political contingency.
The repercussions continue in the Government for the kidnapping and murder of the former Venezuelan military officer. On this occasion they affect the Foreign Ministry and the ambassador in Caracas.

There will be no celebration in La Moneda. President Boric will celebrate his two years of Government in Maule, with all his ministers deployed in the territory. Can the Government alliance stay together over the next two years? There are several challenges.

And in the bonus track of this edition: an interview with deputy Karol Cariola, in a week in which the Communist Party was the topic. In addition, we recount the series of disagreements between the mayor of Viña del Mar and La Moneda and we name the good results of Simce 2023. And finally, we recommend a study that placed Chile among the countries with the least confidence in its Government.

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CELEBRATION OF THE SECOND YEAR: “THE PRESIDENT PASSED THE KEYS TO THE PPD/PS”

The one who explains gets complicated. Gonzalo Winter (CS) spoke for an hour on the “32 minutes” program that is broadcast on YouTube and then had to give numerous interviews to explain what he meant in that conversation. Given so many turns, it was difficult to understand the subtle changes or turns that the deputy made. A minister close to Winter summarized to me that what he meant was “that certain disputes had to be fought even if they were lost.”

Second year with scattered ministers. In La Moneda they told me that the activity that will mark the celebration of the second year of Government will be the field deployment of the ministers and that the President will be in the Maule Region that day. Will this activity be a harbinger of what is to come? Some believe that the Government alliance begins a complex stage, where conflicts and distance between its parties will be the norm.

Frente Amplio lost the keys. A RD leader summarized the current situation of the Government alliance to me: “President Boric handed the keys to the PS/PPD”. That is the feeling that exists in the Frente Amplio (FA) and they recognize that they have some responsibility for their difficulty in raising new cadres to install in the Executive. In Democratic Socialism (SD) and the FA they acknowledged to me that there is mutual distrust between them.

DC is the pretty girl. In the FA they are determined to incorporate or invite the Christian Democrats to the alliance to face the municipal elections together, since that party has several mayors, councilors and cores throughout the country. Asking why this love for the DC came to them now, a militant told me that “Today we have more connection with the president of the DC, Alberto Undurraga, than with Senator Fidel Espinoza (PS).”

The collapse of Democratic Socialism. In the SD there is concern because with this weekend’s plebiscite the process of forming the single party of the FA begins, which will integrate the Democratic Revolution, Social Convergence and Comunes militants. The center-left is aware that it has not made progress in the formation of that “social democratic federation” or Social Democratic Party that has been discussed so much. The PPD is a community in extinction, the Radical and Liberal parties are smaller, and the only one with a relevant dimension is the PS. In the FA they estimate that all these united parties represent between 8% and 10% of the votes.

Not much better. In the FA they calculate that, together, the three groups (RD, CS and Comunes) could achieve from 8% to 10% of the votes. “It is a tough, emotional vote, sub-30, who usually does not vote and who is a TikTok user,” they told me. The other 10% would be contributed by the PC. According to these calculations, the entire united Government alliance would concentrate 30% of the votes, adding Democratic Socialism, the Broad Front and the Communist Party.

The important thing is the senators. In the ruling party there is clarity that it is essential to end the idea installed in the FA and SD that “the survival of one is incompatible with the survival of the other.” A leader of the Democratic Revolution told me that the focus of his community is on the parliamentary elections of 2025, to achieve landing in the Senate, the place where the relevant negotiations are carried out and the most important authorities of the State are appointed. In the SD they talk more about the present and emphasize that it was this ruling coalition that managed to take charge of the country after the social outbreak, the pandemic and the two constituent processes.

PIÑERISMO COMES OUT TO PLAY WITH JAIME BELLOLIO AS CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR

Family farewell. On Wednesday morning the Piñera family held an intimate mass at the San Juan Apóstol church, located in Jacques Cazotte, Vitacura. “It was the moment when we were able to truly say goodbye to him, as a family.“One of the attendees told me. Then, in the afternoon, there was the public event where the entire right wing remembered his figure. The question now is who will represent the work of former president Sebastián Piñera a month after his death.

One thing that is clear is that none of the children will follow their father’s political career. A person close to the family told me that“This is not going to be like the case of Ricardo Lagos Escobar or Patricio Aylwin, who had children active in politics, like Ricardo Lagos Weber and Mariana Aylwin”. The children Magdalena, Cecilia, and Sebastian and Cristóbal have no interest in pursuing a political career and they have made that understood to anyone who asks them about it.

The chosen ones. Among the former collaborators of former President Piñera, the names that circulate the most as his political heirs are Andrés Chadwick (UDI), Jaime Bellolio (UDI) and Juan José Ossa (RN). In the case of former minister Chadwick, he is designated as the one who will be in charge of uniting the right. Regarding this, let us remember his words at the Santiago headquarters of the National Congress: “We have to be united, all united to remember him and to follow his path. Because that is what he would be telling us today, go ahead, go ahead!

The university or politics. In our editions of +Politics In the summer we said that a problem for the former Minister of the Interior to assume a more political role was his current position as dean of the School of Law and Social Sciences of the San Sebastián University, because he could have to assume more responsibilities, given that the president of The board of directors and founder of the study house, Luis Cordero, is having health problems. In the political world they doubt that the commitment to said university will keep him away from politics.

Bellolio new mayor of Providencia. In Piñera’s circle, they highlighted to me that in the last years of his second government, a very good relationship was built between Chadwick and former ministers Jaime Bellolio and Juan José Ossa. This triad would be in charge of representing Piñerism, working towards the objective of uniting the right and becoming the Government again. The revival of Piñerism in the political contingency should be in the coming days, when Jaime Bellolio’s nomination to the Municipality of Providencia is finalized. Bellolio warned me, however, that “we depend on what Evelyn Matthei decides.”

Break in the right after the death of Piñera. A minister of the current Government considers that the death of the former president managed to break the speech “populist, intransigent and contrary to dialogue” led by José Antonio Kast and which managed to contaminate other parties in the sector. “Let’s remember, With the defeat in the presidential primaries of the liberal right represented by Ignacio Briones and Sebastián Sichel, that sector of the dialogic right that Piñera represented was buried.” But the map changed with the defeat of the Republicans in the last constitutional plebiscite and the death of the former president.

THE CHANCELRY OFFICE DOES NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT VENEZUELA

Ministry of the Interior in charge of relations with Venezuela. Among the former foreign ministers close to the ruling party, there is concern about the absence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the case of the kidnapping and murder of former Venezuelan military officer Ronald Ojeda. “It cannot be that relations with Venezuela are now managed by Undersecretary of the Interior Manuel Monsalve and Minister Carolina Tohá,” a former foreign minister told me.

Absence of Alberto van Klaveren. In La Moneda the absence of the chancellor in the crisis unleashed by the kidnapping case is an issue. The day the news broke, there was a meeting at the Palace where Minister Van Klaveren was asked about the possibility of a Foreign Ministry spokesperson and he ruled it out, arguing that it was not convenient.
Low profile ambassador. The poor evaluation of that ministry in the case also affects the Chilean ambassador in Caracas, former senator Jaime Gazmuri, because they consider that he has not managed to establish links with the Government or the Venezuelan opposition.

Venezuelan opposition run amok. Another issue of concern is the confrontational discourse of the Venezuelan opposition towards the Government of President Boric, where the thesis is insisted that there was an agreement between Monsalve and the Maduro regime. In the ruling party, there are several who have received calls from Venezuelan opponents asking for information and requesting commitment to democracy and human rights. “No one has known how to contain the Venezuelan opposition and act as a bridge between the Government and the Venezuelans affected by the Chávez and Maduro regime,” a diplomat told me.

Boric renounces being an international figure. Among diplomats and former foreign ministers, the change in profile that President Boric has had on international issues is striking. During his first year it was common for the president to express criticism of Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba or talk about the war in Ukraine; However, since he became the current chancellor, that profile of regional or international leadership disappeared. As proof of this, they mention Boric’s absence last weekend at the VIII Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) in Kingstown, which Van Klaveren attended on behalf of the President.

Avoiding conflicts. Those who know the diplomatic environment point out that one of the characteristics of the current chancellor is to avoid conflicts and this would explain the decision to opt for a low profile in the case of Venezuela. The Executive criticizes this policy and remembers that at the beginning of this Government, Chilean international politics stood out for being feminist, active in the defense of human rights and involved in the discussion on climate change.

THREE QUESTIONS TO KAROL CARIOLA

In a week in which the Communist Party (PC) has been a relevant topic in the political discussionwe asked deputy Karol Cariola about the relations of her community within the Government alliance and with the other political forces represented in Parliament.

Cariola was the deputy with the most votes in the 2021 elections and is considered one of the leaders of the new generation of communist leaders.

-How do you evaluate the coexistence of the PC in the Government alliance?

-Despite being a Government alliance that was built along the way, I believe that we have been finding meeting points for a common program that we have tried to fulfill, beyond not having the necessary votes in Congress to carry out all of them. reforms and proposals. It is evident that there has been an effort of unity that has been consolidated and that I hope will continue to be consolidated to be able to face the next municipal elections and advance the government program in the two years that we still have left.

-Have you seen signs of anti-communism in the Government alliance?

-In the Government we have managed to consolidate a path of unity with the efforts of all sectors. I would not dare say that there is anti-communism within the Government alliance. Proof of this is that we are working on a unity government program that we have made an effort to execute despite not having a majority in Congress.

What happens outside our coalition is different, where there are far-right parties that live in another era, in the Cold War, and are looking for enemies instead of worrying about the urgent needs of the country. They are trying, once again, to stigmatize communists, which is sad because the Communist Party of Chile is a party that has been consolidating from an electoral point of view and one of the ones with the most militants in the country.

-The Ministries of Labor and Education are headed by members of his party. Do you think that this anti-communism in sectors of the right will affect the negotiation of the pension reform and the functioning of the education sector?

-Searching as an excuse for any other element that implies hatred towards another political sector does not make any sense and only responds to small, cheap and selfish excuses, which all they do is damage our democratic coexistence and delay the progress that resolves people’s needs. .

HALLWAY CONVERSATIONS

– La Moneda increases its annoyance with the mayor of Viña del Mar. Relations between Mayor Macarena Ripamonti (RD) and Palacio are going through a bad moment.

Body count. The first serious problem that Ripamonti had with the Ministry of the Interior was when he pointed out that there were nearly 300 deaths as a result of the fires. The figure was much higher than what the Prosecutor’s Office had and it was because the mayor had obtained said number from a call centerauthorized to report missing persons and deaths. The final figure was 131 people dead.
School supplies backpack. The other complex episode occurred earlier this week, when President Gabriel Boric visited the area to deliver school supplies to children entering classes. After that activity, Ripamonti publicly stated that “those backpacks are going to be stored inside a tent.”
Against Senapred. Thursday was the last confrontation, when the mayor of Viña del Mar blamed the director of the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response (Senapred), Álvaro Hormazábal, and his colleagues from the Broad Front party in the Chamber of Deputies for the delay in reconstruction. and Deputies announced the creation of an investigative commission to review the management of said organization.

– Those responsible for the best Simce score. The news could not be better for Minister Nicolás Cataldo amid so much crisis facing the education sector, with announcements of teacher strikes and the hunger strike in Antofagasta.

This scenario would have motivated to advance the date of presentation of the results of Simce 2023which showed signs of learning recovery after the pandemic, especially in mathematics, which had an increase of 9 points.
In the ministry there is a name for this achievement and it is Joaquín Walker, the executive secretary of the Educational Reactivation Plan of the Ministry of Educationa DC lawyer who was in charge of implementing several measures for the reactivation, such as the kit pedagogical support, the tutor system and intensive literacy programs, among other measures.
They also recognize the Council for Educational Reactivation, which was convened by the then Minister Marco Antonio Ávila and which brought together 23 transversal people, from academic institutions, different mayors’ offices and various civil society organizations. Among the members, the rectors of the University of Chile, Rosa Devés, stand out; from the Catholic University, Ignacio Sánchez; and former ministers Adriana Delpiano (PPD) and Ignacio Briones (Evópoli).

– New rector at the UAI. As we announced in January, Francisco José Covarrubias will be the new rector of the Adolfo Ibáñez University (UAI), after the surprising resignation of Harald Beyer.

The networks have been filled with congratulations to the new rector, especially among people from the academic world, But there have also been some attacks that disqualify Covarrubias for having family relationships with other university officials.
The main attacker of the new rector has been the former deputy and ex-conventional Renato Garínwhich has insistently published on the social network
Responsibility of Harald Beyer. Garín’s criticism has a problem and it is that it was former rector Beyer and his predecessor who appointed these officials and Covarrubias cannot be held responsible for their presence at the university. In fact, Isabel Aninat had worked with Beyer at the Center for Public Studies and he took her to the university, where she was an important collaborator throughout her tenure as rector.
The “Giant of Tarapacá”. The other issue that returned to the networks with the appointment of Covarrubias was the one that occurred in 2019, when it was formalized due to damage to the archaeological monument known as the Giant of Tarapacá, in the vicinity of Iquique. Covarrubias apologized at the time and explained that there were no signs preventing entry to the sector.

AGENDA OF THE WEEK

Monday 11: celebration of the two years of the Government of President Gabriel Boric. All the ministers will be deployed in “the territory,” they detailed to me.
Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th: Frente Amplio plebiscite to decide the unification of the three coalition parties (Democratic Revolution, Social Convergence and Comunes) into a single large party.

LOBBY CORNER

Minister of Education. In this month when classes began, we reviewed details of the hearings that the Minister of Education, Nicolás Cataldo (PC), has registered on the Lobby Law Platform.

The last recorded meeting was with the Chinese communications transnational Huawei Chile, to discuss its young talent program. The other hearing with a company was with Minera Candelaria, for the resolution of the education conflict in the Atacama Region.
Most of its meetings are with civil society organizations, such as the National Confederation of Gardens VTF (Via Transfer of Funds), Education 2020, National Association of Officials of the National Board of Kindergartens and the Association of Municipalities of Chile, to discuss the implementation of the process of transferring schools to the Local Public Education Services (SLEP) system, among others.

RECOMMENDATION: OECD REPORT

Every two years, the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) publishes a report that evaluates and compares the governments of member and some non-member countries on ten different indicators. This year “Government at a Glance 2023” was published. I recommend taking a look.

I came across the report through a column by Martin Wolf in the Financial Timesin which he analyzed with concern the location of the United Kingdom in the “Trust in Government” graph, where 39.5% of British people answered that “Yes” they trusted their Government.
For my surprise, Chile occupies third to last place in the “Trust in Government” table, with 29% of Chileans answering that “Yes” they trust their Government. The next worst-placed countries are Greece (26%) and Slovakia (22%).
Chile is also the worst evaluated of the five Latin American countries that are in the same graph. From best to worst evaluated in the region, the order is: Costa Rica (60%), Mexico (53%), Brazil (39%), Colombia (30%) and Chile (29%).
A defense that the country’s authorities could make is that, during the years in which the field work was carried out, Chile was going through a stage of high inflation, a strong adjustment of the economy and the post-social outbreak constitutional discussion was in full development.
At the level of OECD countries, the first places They are occupied by Switzerland (84%) and Scandinavian countries such as Finland (77%) and Sweden (69%), which have long led global evaluations in levels of education, health, happiness, etc.

And here is the edition of +Politics This week. I leave you until next Saturday, when I promise we will have new stories and news. If you have any comments, questions or information that you want to share, you can write to me at [email protected].