The Minister of Social Development, Giorgio Jackson, the greatest political ally of President Gabriel Boric, responded to the criticism that arose from the absence of Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola —who, like the President, suspended his vacations to be present during the emergency unleashed by forest fires in the south-central zone of the country.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrel) had gone on vacation, just after the scandal caused by the leak of the audio about the Argentine ambassador in Chile, Rafael Bielsa. Now, after adding detractors due to her absence in the midst of the catastrophe, Minister Urrejola travels from Costa Rica to Santiago this Saturday, and it is expected that she will return to her duties next Monday.
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“As we have seen with the delegations that have come from different countries, Chile’s international relations and its ability to generate aid have been super active,” said Minister Jackson, in conversation with The Mercuryalong with thanking the participation of firefighters and brigade members who came from countries of the European Union, Mexico or Ecuador.
Let us remember that the absence of the head of Minrel 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 of Economic Relations Internationals, José Miguel Ahumada, who is deputy minister.
For the head of the Social Development portfolio, everything has been kept under control in the international sense, therefore, “the times of legal holidays that the authorities take have not prevented international aid from arriving on time,” he said.
Giorgio Jackson is President Boric’s liaison in La Araucanía, where an estimated 92,000 hectares have been burned. The Secretary of State told the morning newspaper that “there is hope in the region” that the accidents will end soon. However, the Minister of Mindes adds a concern: “The heat wave has moved north, so other regions have been involved.”
Finally, Jackson projected that the weather conditions in the central zone of Chile are worrisome. “You have to be alert because the climatic and meteorological conditions that are going to occur in the central zone of the country are very worrying and have raised alarms,” she added. In any case, she maintained that those who have been affected by the fire should have a housing solution before winter.
