Boric Completes his Cabinet

CHILE - In Brief 01 Feb 2022 by Robert Funk

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With the announcement on Tuesday of who the undersecretaries will be, president-elect Gabriel Boric has offered a much more complete picture of the government that’s taking shape, and the message is mixed.Whereas the cabinet announcement was greeted with enthusiasm, thanks in large measure to the inclusion of Mario Marcel in Finance, the list of 39 undersecretaries is likely to revert the optimism. On the one hand Boric has clearly used these positions to open space for younger members of his coalition and provide further signals of inclusion and diversity (in terms of gender, ethnicity, and notably, social origin). At the same time, he has given space to the more left-leaning sectors of the coalition. Although there are 11 independents, the Communist Party and Convergencia Social (Boric’s party) have obtained 6 undersecretariats each, and Revolución Democrática got 7. Moreover, some high profile undersecretaries, such as Claudia Sanhueza in Finance and José Miguel Ahumada in International Trade are known for their anti-market stances.In other areas, however, Boric has opted for younger versions of the old Concertación coalition, tried and true social democrats such as Miguel Crispi (Regional Development, currently an RD deputy), Macarena Lobos (Secretary General of the Presidency, a lawyer with a distinguished run at the Budget Office), Manuel Monsalve (Interior, a physician and former Socialist deputy), and Eduardo Vergara, in Public Security, a long standing expert in the field, affiliated with the Party for Democracy). These are the top ‘political’ posts, working out of the presidential palace, and dealing with some of the most salient challenges that Boric will fa...