After having returned to Chile early from her vacation in Costa Rica, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrel), Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola, reiterated her rejection of the criticism that arose towards her management when she was out of the country in the midst of the forest fires in the center-south zone of the country, which he described as unfair.
Minister Urrejola, in addition to stating that they were shot “with political intent”, maintained that she resumed her functions by personal decision and not because President Gabriel Boric asked her to, along with assuring that returning sooner “would not have changed the great work that the Foreign Ministry has done – which was left in the hands of Undersecretary Ahumada -“.
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“I can describe what the intentions are, but it does seem to me that there is indeed a political intention (…) I do not know what the origin is,” said the head of Minrel, in a conversation with radio Cooperative. In this sense, for Minister Urrejola, “the essential thing is to recognize that there has been impeccable management on the part of the Foreign Ministry, because the political criticisms are of me, but by criticizing me they are criticizing the Foreign Ministry.” That, in her opinion, “is a lack of respect for the work that the officials have done.”
“There are many ministers who are on vacation and it seems to me that it is everyone’s labor right to be able to rest. There are teams, public officials, who do their job,” added Urrejola, while stating that “ministers are never completely on vacation, We’re always in touch.” This, “with regard to these criticisms that seem unfair and inappropriate to me,” she stressed.
Finally, the Secretary of State emphasized that “they have to evaluate us according to the concrete facts and the management that we have carried out, and beyond the mistakes that are made in all management, it seems to me that the results of last year give realized that we have made progress in terms of foreign policy”.
Audio leak statements
Minister Urrejola had gone on vacation, just after the scandal caused by the leak of the audio about the Argentine ambassador in Chile, Rafael Bielsa. His absence coincided with the departure for a legal holiday of the undersecretary of the portfolio, Ximena Fuentes, so the work of coordinating international aid as a result of the claims has been carried out by the undersecretary for International Economic Relations, José Miguel Ahumada, who served as deputy chief.
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“The audio thing was undoubtedly a complex and painful episode,” he told the aforementioned medium. Antonia Urrejola regretted that the “error” was blamed on her, of which she was also a “victim.” “When it happened, they don’t know the number of fellow foreign ministers from the region and Europe and foreign journalists who wrote to me in solidarity because I was the subject of a recording of a private conversation that was released,” she told the radio station.
In any case, “I didn’t think about resigning,” he said. “I felt very honored when the President invited me to be part of his cabinet, and I will be as long as I have his confidence. I am calm with the work I have done,” said the woman who has had a busy schedule even since she came to office. Santiago Airport.
The ambassador of the United States in Chile delivered an immediate response donation to Bomberos de Chile consisting of water hoses and various tools, as well as additional assistance, to support the work carried out by firefighters in the fight against fires in the center and south of the country. The donation delivery ceremony was attended by Minister Urrejola and the National Secretary of Firefighters, Valesca Acevedo.
In addition, on Sunday, the Chancellor received a contingent from Portugal that joined the more than 700 foreign brigade members fighting the flames in Chile.
Tomorrow, the head of the Foreign Relations portfolio, along with the French Ambassador to Chile Pascal Teixeira da Silva, and the European Union Chargé d’Affaires in Chile Quentin Weiler, receive a contingent of French firefighters who will collaborate in the fight against forest fires in the south-central zone of the country.
