Regardless of the electoral result of the plebiscite this Sunday, September 4, from Democratic Socialism they have expressed their interest in having a more prominent role in the Government’s political committee, as the president of the PPD, Natalia Piergentili, mentioned a few days ago. . In conversation in ‘Tolerancia Cero’, by CNNthe helmsman assured that “for us it would certainly be a contribution that someone from our ranks was in the political committee, not only because we would feel proud, but because we believe that our party has been putting issues on the agenda, has been anticipating the problematic and I think that this is something that the President values and the citizens as well”.
Although the decision regarding a change of cabinet would already be made, from the Palace of La Moneda they assume that the result of the constitutional referendum could determine the schedule of said modifications. Both the PPD and the rest of the parties that make up Socialismo Democrático hope that this change in the design of the Executive will allow them to be part of the core of the decisions, after the forced departure of Jeanette Vega from the Ministry of Social Development. The party founded by former President Ricardo Lagos seeks to have more influence within the ruling forces, after setting itself up as the first conveners of a proposal for reforms to the new Constitution.
But Piergentili’s statements on television did not sit well with the other government coalition, Approve Dignity. From this sector, they consider that raising this type of question, days before the plebiscite to exit the constitutional process is held, is a risky move that opens the door to speculation and criticism regarding a discussion that –in his opinion– It should be displayed internally. They also relativize the convening role of the PPD to the reform agreement to the new Magna Carta, since they admit that several of the points included in their proposal were not finally part of the final document signed by all the helmsmen of the ruling party.
In this regard, the senator and president of the Democratic Revolution (RD), Juan Ignacio Latorre, pointed out that “although the PPD was the first party to make proposals, many of its proposals were not recorded in the final document, where there was an agreement between parties and between blocs. Far beyond what the PPD said, the agreement arose from a call by the President and not because the PPD requested it. Secondly, it seems to me that it is somewhat in bad taste to advertise in the press, asking for charges or going around demanding to enter the political committee, even more so when the first cabinet change was with a minister linked to the PPD, due to mistakes made by a generation that supposedly has more experience and that, finally, stumbled in this case because of Quite a childish mistake.”
In this sense, the parliamentarian added that for the President it is essential that the political committee is made up of people he trusts and is committed to the official political project, admitting that “it is not a question of including just any person because a party requests it. In that , I believe that there are conversations that should be carried out more in the private sphere, in an institutional manner, where there is an open channel between the President and the party helmsmen”.
But the truth is that, beyond the result of the plebiscite this Sunday, September 4, the bloc made up of the PS, PPD, PL and PR would seek to bet on modifications to the structure of the Prime Minister’s political committee, currently made up of the ministers Giorgio Jackson (Segpres), Izkia Siches (Interior), Camila Vallejo (Segegob), Mario Marcel (Hacienda) and Antonia Orellana (Woman). The concern arises because, of these Secretaries of State, only Marcel is linked to Democratic Socialism –is independent, close to PS–and the rest belong to Approve Dignity parties: Vallejo (PC), Jackson (RD) and Orellana (CS), in addition to Siches –independent, but with strong connections to said coalition–.
In this framework, the recent departure of Jeanette Vega from the cabinet immediately generated the concern of Socialismo Democrático, unleashing its urgency to add new forces that allow aiming at a political balance between both coalitions, considering the imminent modification of the cabinet that President Boric could announce in the coming days, depending on the result of this Sunday, and in this context, from the ruling party they admit that an eventual victory of the Approval could “soften” the ministerial change.
In this discussion, from the PPD a name has emerged that in recent weeks has sounded strong as the possible replacement of Izkia Siches at the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security. This is the former Secretary General of the Government in the first administration of Michelle Bachelet and former mayor of Santiago, Carolina Tohá, who in recent days has maintained, in different appearances in the media, that she has not been contacted by President Boric to said responsibility and that his reinstatement in the public sphere is justified solely by his support for the I Approve option.
However, a trial of accounts carried out by the Comptroller for the management of Tohá as communal head of Santiago –amounting to more than 300 million pesos– could eventually curb the option of settling in a highly coveted place of power, such as the portfolio of the Interior. This is a case that originated after an audit carried out between January and December 2016. In it, it was established that Tohá and 14 of his collaborators were responsible for improper and unsupported expenses, by allocating money that went to education towards non-accredited payments . A situation that would be considered serious by the younger groups of the Government, who seek to differentiate themselves from the former Concertación.
Plebiscite as a determining factor
In this regard, from Approve Dignidad, the president of the Social Green Regionalist Federation (FRVS), Flavia Torrealba, maintained that these conversations should not be carried out through the press, where –in his opinion– The PPD is “raising the price” for Minister Vega’s departure from the Social Development portfolio. He also believes that, in a presidential system like ours, the one who outlines and designs the political cabinet is the President of the Republic and, under this logic, the political parties should not hinder this decision-making process by the President.
“It is not to arrive and let in everyone who wants to enter. I think that Gabriel Boric finally wins the recent election because the country is putting a challenge to the political system that has to do with the reasons why the social uprising took place in October 2019. So, it is not so easy to aim for him to take the I control traditional politics, so the President must be careful to maintain the spirit of a Government of transformations, which has to do with what society is demanding (…). It is not so easy to try to strengthen oneself through a struggle to enter a cabinet by force, because there must be a superior political reason, and that is why the political parties have to collaborate so that the President’s decision-making is as free as possible,” said Torrealba.
For their part, Democratic Socialism valued the intention of the PPD to join a political committee that -in your opinion- it could be strengthened through the political “experience” of these parties, the result of their participation in the governments of the former Concertación. While there is speculation that President Boric could turn to an experienced political figure to take over ministries such as the Interior or the General Secretariat of the Presidency, the ruling party assumes that a turn towards a consensus-building logic could provoke pockets of resistance, especially in I approve of Dignidad, where they defend the discourse of a “transforming government”, away from the traditional political class.
For the helmsman of the Liberal Party (PL), Patricio Morales, “the presence of a PPD militant in the political committee could be something positive, which is related to strengthening a political balance between I Approve Dignity and Democratic Socialism, which will to allow the base of the Government to be more solid. But it is something that ultimately falls on the exclusive initiative of the President (…). I believe that in Democratic Socialism there are people with experience, who can allow us to continue expanding the political base of the Government The minimum is that the two coalitions have a balance and a common way of governing, “he said.
A decision that ultimately falls into the hands of President Gabriel Boric and that, according to details from La Moneda, would already be made. Now, the date and magnitude of this change in the cabinet are issues that could be affected by the result of the plebiscite to exit the constituent process, where a hypothetical victory of the Approval would confer greater freedom to the President for decision-making. On the contrary, in the event that the Rejection is imposed this Sunday, the Government would be forced to give a strong signal, in the face of an opposition that would be strengthened and that would probably seek to link in the greatest possible way this eventual triumph of the Rejection of a failure of the management led by Boric. The citizen vote will be decisive in said discussion.
