Former Interior Minister Carolina Tohá called it a "complete mistake" for the opposition to turn its agenda toward the next presidential election. She made the remarks on Radio Infinita, days after former President Michelle Bachelet left the door open to a third bid for La Moneda, the presidential palace.
According to BioBioChile, Tohá, herself a former presidential candidate, gave this answer when asked whether Bachelet's words were good news for her political camp. "It's always good to have many candidates available, in that respect yes," she said.
However, she drew a line. According to the former minister, it would be bad news if the opposition began preparing electoral issues "instead of doing the job that falls to us today."
Bachelet left that possibility open by answering "I think so" when asked about a possible new run, as reported by CNN Chile. The former president governed the country for two terms, and a third candidacy would be unprecedented in recent history.
Tohá noted that President José Antonio Kast's government has three and a half years left. "Many worrying things are happening in the country and the opposition has a job to do there," she said. She added that seeing politics focused on the next election "won't do us any good."
The former cabinet minister praised Bachelet's willingness and considered it consistent with her track record. "She always has an attitude of serving and helping," she said. Even so, she declined to say whether Bachelet should run: those decisions, she explained, "will have to be made at another time."
For Tohá, the focus lies elsewhere. The former minister argued that the opposition needs a critical look at recent years to understand its defeats. She also called for an in-depth review of the constitutional process and the 2019 social uprising.
According to her, more debates and writings are circulating today than at any time since the return to democracy. But, in her view, day-to-day politics connects little with that reflection.
Her position matches that of other leaders in her camp. Socialist Party president Paulina Vodanovic also avoided opening the debate over Bachelet in her recent criticism of the Executive.
Tohá closed with a concrete timeline. There are no elections this year or next, she noted, so the opposition must provide oversight on the budget, security and reforms, while at the same time preparing "a project for Chile in the coming years."
