MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Blitz reshuffle operation in Bachelet's cabinet

In a blitz operation Chilean president Michelle Bachelet established Friday another record, --besides been the first woman to lead the country--, the earliest cabinet reshuffle since Chile returned to free elections and democracy in 1990.

With only 126 days in office the Chilean leader made adjustments to her cabinet in three key ministries, Interior, Economy and Education, apparently moved by a significant drop in opinion polls' support and serious coordination problems among her ministers.

Interior (Home) Minister Andres Zaldivar was replaced by Belisario Velasco; Economy Minister Ingrid Antonijevic by Alejandro Ferreiro and in Education Yasna Provoste moves into Maritn Zilic's post.

Belisatio Velasco is an old hand in Chile's ruling coalition junior partner the Christian Democrats who currently was head of the country's Television Council and had been Deputy Interior minister in previous administrations. Mr. Zaldivar although one of the most respected members of the Chilean political establishment apparently had difficulties coordinating the different ministries.

Christian democrat Zilic was severely questioned as Education minister for his handling of the students' protests which became the worst conflict faced by the Bachelet administration. Lack of negotiation skills, strong police reaction turned a limited incident to a major national strike that lasted for a couple of weeks bringing Chile's education system to a halt, and Bachelet's public opinion polls standing.

In the middle of the controversy the former minister Zilic in an interview with El Mercurio was quoted saying that "if the President tells me I must leave the job, I will be most grateful for the liberation".

The incoming Economy minister Alejandro Ferreiro is a lawyer with vast experience in the insurance industry, social security and was chairman of the Public Office Ethics Committee. Chile's pension system is projected to undergo a radical review which has become highly controversial because among other things it calls for increasing the retirement age.

Similarly the private savings scheme dating back to the eighties hasn't proved as promising as was expected and the government has been forced to admit "insufficiencies" and is paying special compensations to the lower incomes.