According to Emol, La Moneda keeps presidential delegates in a permanent "state of evaluation." Since September 30, the government has applied stricter criteria to its "second tier," officials who are not ministers.
That day, the departure of two regional ministerial secretaries (regional representatives of ministries) from the Metropolitan Region was announced: Sebastián Norambuena, for Housing, and Kattia Durán, for Social Development. According to the outlet, the executive branch specified that the removals stem from unmet objectives, negative evaluations or personal reasons.
In previous months, by contrast, changes were explained as adjustments during the initial settling-in period. The watchword at the Palace, according to Emol, is to have "people who actually do the work," even if that means further adjustments.
Relations with the delegates are managed by the Undersecretariat of the Interior, led by Máximo Pavez. Specifically, the Internal Government Division (DGI), headed by Vicente Núñez, handles this work. Monitoring covers press appearances, schedules, achievement of objectives and attendance.
President José Antonio Kast also monitors these officials' performance. The issue was discussed this Friday at his meeting with the secretaries-general of the governing parties at La Moneda. The President has asked those parties on several occasions for reports on the delegates' performance.
The delegates also receive the President during his visits to the regions. Their work is therefore on display during every presidential visit.
The most widely discussed case is that of Víctor Pino, the regional presidential delegate for Coquimbo. At his chief of staff's request, the Basic Emergency Form (FIBE), a tool that registers people affected by emergencies, was completed at his own home. Following the controversy, Pino requested that it be annulled.
Pino also faced criticism for failing to attend the Regional Rural Development Roundtable and for an alleged lack of presence on the ground. On July 2, regional leaders of Evópoli, the UDI, the Christian Party, Democrats and the Republican Party backed him in a statement. National Renewal (RN) did not sign.
In Valparaíso, attention turned to delegate Manuel Millones. His delegation modified the Lobbying Law register to remove his name and that of Víctor Quiroz from a June 8 meeting. Quiroz is an architect, a partner in Inmobiliaria Lote 21 SpA and the brother of Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz.
That meeting concerned the Alto Santorini real estate project in Viña del Mar, which was subsequently approved. The source does not specify whether official explanations were provided for the change to the register.
A low public profile also counts in the evaluation. In Los Lagos, delegate Cristián Palma is known to only 26.5% of respondents, according to the Gente del Sur survey, conducted between August 1 and 24.
At the provincial level, Quillota delegate Pilar Cuevas faces allegations of workplace mistreatment from various employees in her office. So far, Emol has not reported any further removals of delegates, and the government has not publicly confirmed changes to those posts.
