Chile President Gabriel Boric tapped a respected lawmaker for his cabinet after his top liaison with congress resigned for health reasons, just as key bills including a mining royalty are bogged down in legislative talks.
(Bloomberg) — Chile President Gabriel Boric tapped a respected lawmaker for his cabinet after his top liaison with congress resigned for health reasons, just as key bills including a mining royalty are bogged down in legislative talks.
Boric accepted Ana Lya Uriarte’s resignation, according to a government statement on Wednesday, which added that she will need a prolonged period of rest. Uriarte will be replaced by Alvaro Elizalde, a Socialist Party senator who was previously spokesman under former President Michelle Bachelet.
The departure of Uriarte, who was one of the government’s more experienced ministers, comes at a crucial time for Boric as his administration struggles to drive key legislation through congress. Talks over a mining royalty have gotten bogged down over the tax burdens that businesses would face. Last month, lawmakers unexpectedly rejected a proposal for a broader tax overhaul that was intended to bankroll more robust social programs.
“Ana Lya Uriarte was brought in to reconstruct dialogue in congress,” said Marco Moreno, a professor at the government school at Universidad Central. Her replacement “is very experienced, and also has a good relationship with the opposition.”
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Elizalde will be the third Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, as the position is formally known, in just over a year. He will face a long list of challenges, including keeping new attempts at early pension fund withdrawals at bay, while also jump-starting government-backed legislation such as pension reform, Moreno said.
Local newspaper La Tercera reported late on Tuesday that the Senate vote on the mining royalty bill will be postponed to May from this week.
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