Chile waits as Michelle Bachelet considers new cabinet after scandal
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Version 0 of 1. After sacking her entire cabinet, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet kept the nation guessing on Friday as she considered a new lineup to steer the country out of one of the country’s most dramatic political crises since the 1973 military coup. Related: Chilean president rocked by corruption allegations against family members Ensconcing herself in her hillside home in Santiago, the Socialist party leader has not yet uttered a word to the public about her intentions to deal with a series of corruption scandals that have eroded trust in her son, her ministers, and the entire political system. Bachelet is not implicated in any wrongdoing, but she has been castigated for inaction – a major factor in the fall of her approval ratings to 29%, their lowest level since she first took power in 2006. That changed dramatically on Thursday, when she told a stunned interviewer on live television that she had just asked all of her ministers to resign and would spend the next 72 hours deciding on a new lineup and direction. Since then, the nation has been on tenterhooks awaiting her decision while commentators have rushed to speculate on the likely makeup of the new cabinet, the reasons for the shakeup and its implications. Nobody disputes this is a huge gamble. While the ruthlessness of the move may strengthen Bachelet’s authority as a no-nonsense leader, it could just as easily leave her in a weaker position. Demoting senior figures in her New Majority coalition puts at risk the parliamentary relationships she depends upon on to pass her centre-left legislative program. But political insiders say action can no longer be avoided. “The cabinet change is a signal to the entire political class,” said José Miguel Insulza, the outgoing head of Organisation of American States and self-declared contender for a ministerial post. “I am convinced that the president still has the support of the majority of Chileans, but certainly she has to win back the confidence and to do this the government has to be much more consistent.” It is certainly a major shift in style for the former pediatric doctor, who was long seen as the politician most likely to heal the bitter divisions left by the 1973 military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. When she left office after her first term in 2010, she had the support of 84% of the public. Her second term, however, has been more troubled. The economy has slowed, corruption scandals dominate the news, and the right-wing and business community are fighting back against her policies to redistribute income and strengthen the power of trade unions. “Chile is experiencing a crisis of confidence for many reasons,” said Bachelet in comments posted on the presidential website. “I thought it necessary to evaluate multiple things from management to the team that will accompany me in this new cycle.” This crisis comes amid a scandal that ensnared most of the main political parties with revelations of dubious campaign contributions from mining companies and other large corporations. This should have been a political gift for the president, who has long been seen as a clean politician, but it exploded in the government’s face when Bachelet’s top aides, allies and son were also accused of wrongdoing. Last year, her son Sebastián Dávalos – who served an official role as a presidential aide – was accused of influence peddling. He allegedly used the family name to secure a $10m loan for his wife’s company so it could buy a plot of land just before it was rezoned for urban development in a deal that could have earned the couple millions in profits. Although Dávalos denied the accusations, Bachelet’s slow move to have him forced out of government proved a serious miscalculation. Related: Chile's president Michelle Bachelet asks entire cabinet to resign amid crisis Adding to her woes, interior minister Rodrigo Peñailillo and several close aides were among the latest batch of senior politicians to be implicated in scandals involving the use of fake invoices to pay salaries. Bachelet has at times seemed a spent force. For a brief period, she stopped giving interviews and virtually disappeared from the public eye. There were rumours that she was considering resignation. By taking the initiative again this week, she may, however, have turned attention towards the greater structural problems facing Chile. Frustration at persistent inequality, coupled with antiquated campaign finance laws and creeping corruption have eroded faith in political institutions. In a recent poll, 79% of Chileans said the country needs a new constitution. “The crisis is not centered on the New Majority, it is situated in the entire political system”, said Hernan Larrain, executive director of the think tank Horizontal. “There is a denial of reality, there has to be a sincere answer to the reality of campaign finance … As long as there is no honest admitting of these bad practices, we won’t get out of this rut.” On the streets of Santiago, there was a mix of surprise and concern at the president’s bold move. For journalist Paula Vera, this is Chile’s most serious political turbulence in decades. “This is a very broad political crisis, from right to left. It’s not about Bachelet, it’s all the politicians. There is an overall lack of confidence in the institutions,” she said. Antonio Notari, a Bachelet supporter and retired tax officer, said the president had made a fatal mistake by giving her son a role in the government. “She was Dr Bachelet, always a political outsider, now she got caught up in the larger political system,” he said. “People feel let down, but this is a momentary disillusionment. Is she a good president? Yes. If she gets the political support, then she will bounce back.” |