According to Cooperativa, the mayor of Ñuñoa, a comuna (municipality) in Santiago, Sebastián Sichel, criticized the Government's economic management and challenged the Minister of Hacienda (Finance), Jorge Quiroz. He asked him to take on a political role and "reinvent himself". If he does not, he said, "another minister must be found".
Sichel made the remarks in an interview with La Tercera, which Cooperativa cites. The former Minister of Social Development focused his criticism on the way the Executive explains its decisions to the public.
"If people are having a hard time, and you can't give them a good answer because gas prices went up or because they were afraid of losing their job," he said. He then referred to the argument for taking computers away from schoolchildren because they could be used to watch pornography or be sold at the street market. In his view, that is "trying to make people outraged".
For the mayor, the underlying problem is the minister's profile. "A Minister of Hacienda should build politics, not just build budgets," he said. He added that he sees Quiroz as "an economist who is concerned with the financial administration of the State and not as a minister".
Sichel drew on his own career to make the contrast. He recalled that he worked in the economic area of a Concertación government and that he admired Andrés Velasco, Michelle Bachelet's Minister of Hacienda, for his countercyclical decisions. He also mentioned former president Sebastián Piñera, who, according to Sichel, chose to invest even in times of crisis, such as after the earthquake.
His assessment of the current situation is harsh. "I see a Government that is scared, panicked about fiscal spending", he said, comparing it to "an eighties-style right" that believes running a country is "simply saying 'no'".
The criticism comes at a sensitive moment for President José Antonio Kast's economic team. The Government committed to a fiscal adjustment of US$ 6,000 million over 18 months, and the Budget Director, José Pablo Gómez, has said they are seven months into that period. In addition, the governing parties are pressing for a cabinet reshuffle, which Kast does not foresee until 2027.
The Cooperativa report does not include a response from Quiroz or La Moneda. Sichel closed with a concrete alternative: either Quiroz changes or the Government adds "a political minister who understands public policy and acts as a counterweight to him".
