The Minister(s) of the Interior, Manuel Monsalvedefended an official letter submitted to the Budget Directorate (Dipres), in which it is requested to sign four advisers for the portfolio with salaries higher than those provided by the government.
When asked about the matter, the authority pointed out that “this has to do with the qualification of people”, adding that “if the exception did not exist, we could not request it. In justified cases, this exception can be requested, and these have been cases considered justified.”
“I want to place just one example, not by name, but in my case within my cabinet there is a person who held the roles of Minister of State, Undersecretary of State, Legislative Coordinator in Congress, and obviously his experience, ability and his knowledge is of high value for the function he exercises in the Ministry of the Interior”, he commented.
Let us remember that one of the President’s campaign commitments Gabriel Boric “It was to reduce the salary of high-ranking State authorities and trusted appointed advisers to no more than 10 times the minimum salary, which we hope to raise to $500,000,” he said at the end of November 2021.
Precisely, in March the government issued a circular on “policy of austerity and efficiency in the use of public resources.” It instructed ministers not to pay their advisers a trust fee salary greater than 50% of the gross remuneration of an undersecretary.
The case of Interior and other advisers
As revealed Radio Bio Bioin the official letter sent by the Undersecretary of the Interior to Dipres, there are four advisers who exceed what is set by La Moneda.
“In the Undersecretary of the Interior we require your authorization in the hiring, both in the cabinet that was and in the cabinet of the Minister of the Interior and Public Security, of professionals and expert advisors, whose fees exceed the maximum amount defined in the Circular No. 004 for those who work in the respective cabinets, that is, 65% of the average monthly income of an Undersecretary of State”, indicates the official letter.
“This Secretary of State comes to base the request to remunerate the provision of services in amounts of fees that exceed the indicated percentage, by virtue of the experience, professionalism, level of responsibility, functions they perform, as well as the technical-political confidence that they hold the authority”, adds the text.
The advisors mentioned are the lawyer Gabriel From the Source (monthly gross honorary salary of $7,431,504), Ruben Sanchez ($4,500,000 monthly gross fee), the physician Joseph Peralta (gross monthly fee of $5,700,000) and also a doctor Matthias Libuy ($5,700,000 monthly gross fee).
Meanwhile, according to Third81 government officials – from entities physically located in the Palace, such as the Presidency, the Ministry of the Interior, Segpres, Segegob and the Ministry of Women – earn more than $5 million.
On the list there are ministers, undersecretaries, division heads, cabinet chiefs and advisers under the modality of staff, contracts and fees, according to the aforementioned media.
If salaries greater than 10 times the current minimum wage (over $3,800,000) are calculated, the figure corresponds to 2,020 people.
