Former President Gabriel Boric criticized Economy and Mining Minister Daniel Mas on Thursday. His comments came after the minister blamed the previous administration for the sharp decline in AFP Fund E (pension fund administrators).
According to CNN Chile, Mas linked the fund's negative results to "decisions made under the previous government". He added that those measures "were corrected at the start of this government; otherwise, the effect could have been much worse." The sources do not specify what those decisions were or how they were corrected.
Boric responded after meeting with former President Michelle Bachelet and opposition party leaders. "When people hear a government that has already been in office for seven months blaming the previous government for everything, I think they draw their own conclusions," he said.
The former president called on José Antonio Kast's administration to take responsibility for current events. He recalled telling his ministers in 2022 that whoever governs "is responsible for improving Chileans' quality of life."
"Going around blaming someone else builds nothing, solves nothing, evades responsibility and erodes trust," he said. According to T13, Boric also clarified that he does not intend "to comment on every current event."
The cause of the losses remains under discussion. Specialists cited in previous coverage attribute the result to a "herd effect". According to that analysis, the seven AFPs used derivatives linked to U.S. interest rates and obtained almost identical results. The president of the Association of AFPs, meanwhile, said that "the loss has not been realized." The sources do not provide a precise figure for the plunge.
Fund E is the most conservative fund in the system and concentrates its investments in fixed income. That is why people nearing retirement often choose it, and a decline in that fund causes particular concern.
Regarding the meeting with Bachelet, Boric said the opposition's priority is "to reconnect with people." He also ruled out another presidential bid for now: "We lost the last election by a wide margin," he acknowledged.
Opposition parties are preparing another meeting in November. According to Boric, the idea is to plan joint visits to neighborhoods, squares and schools to listen to the public.
