MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean President decrees his third cabinet reshuffle

Boric is meeting with the opposition to negotiate a parliamentarian approval of key reforms

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font Wednesday reshuffled his cabinet for the third time since reaching office 18 months ago. “I call on you to fully dedicate yourselves to the mission of this government to advance in a more just society,” said Boric upon swearing in the new officials.

 The measure came after weeks of pressure from the opposition and was triggered by Friday's resignation by Giorgio Jackson as Minister of Social Development. Jackson is known to be a close friend of Boric's.

On Wednesday, Boric appointed Nicolas Cataldo as Education Minister (replacing Marco Antonio Avila), Aurora Williams in Mining (replacing Marcela Hernando), Marcela Sandoval in National Assets (instead of Javiera Toro, who will replace Jackson at Social Development), and Carolina Arredondo in Culture to take over from Jaime de Aguirre.

The right-wing and ultra-right opposition had conditioned the negotiations of two key reforms (tax and pension) to Jackson's departure, but then upped the ante and said it was not “enough.”

These changes come on the eve of the historic right-wing Chile Vamos coalition visiting La Moneda to resume negotiations on the tax and pension reforms.

Education was one of the most expected changes since teachers have been threatening for weeks with an indefinite strike and Ávila narrowly escaped an impeachment trial.

The biggest surprise came in Culture because De Aguirre had been in office for only six months and there is less than a month left for the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the military coup staged by General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte against the Socialist Salvador Allende, when the ceremonies depend on this ministry.

This last reshuffle does not alter the balance of forces within the ruling coalition, which still lacks a majority in Parliament and has more than half of its mandate ahead.