MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile's FM resigns with new Spanish job in mind

Urrejola was critical of Allamand's attitude

The Chilean Government Sunday announced the resignation of Foreign Minister Andrés Allamand had been accepted and that Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Carolina Valdivia Torres would become acting minister effective immediately.

Allamand resigned after he was citicized for being on vacation during the crisis in Iquique involving Venezuelan migrants. Starting in November, Allamand will take over at the helm of the Ibero-American General Secretariat in Madrid.

“President Piñera thanks Allamand for the service provided and wishes success to Carolina Valdivia in this new challenge,” a Government statement read.

According to opposition parties, Allamand should have returned to Santiago as a consequence of the incidents in Iquique.

In any case, Allamand did not have much time ahead at the job. Piñera is to be succeeded by Gabriel Boric on March 11. Boric's choice for the position of foreign minister Antonia Urrejola said the “defense of Chile's interests in the world demands exclusive attention.”

Allamand's decision to take up a position in Spain instead of completing his term at his own country has raised controversy.

“Given the resignation of former Minister @Allamand, I ratify that we will work for a present Foreign Ministry, in the face of citizen problems,” Urrejola posted on Twitter.

“We will focus on this full-time from March 11,” she promised.

Urrejola accepted Boric's offer for the job because of the role the Chilean leader seems to be aiming at after distancing himself from human right violations committed in countries ruled by the left such as Venezuela and Nicaragua. Urrejola said those violations too needed to be denounced.