Santiago — Chile’s Lower House has approved a resolution for President Gabriel Boric to consider requesting the resignation of his Social Development Minister and right-hand man, Giorgio Jackson. The predominantly right-wing legislators have questioned the latter regarding his performance as minister, and are pressing the head of state for a cabinet shuffle following a corruption scandal.
The proposal was promoted by legislators of the Republican Party, founded by the conservative José Antonio Kast, and mustered 68 votes in favor, 52 against and five abstentions. Most of the support came from the right-wing lawmakers, although the center-left Raúl Soto, former president of the House, also voted in favor because he considers that “there is a political crisis in the government” and that “a change of direction and a change of course” is required.
The opposition is insisting on a cabinet change following the biggest scandal of alleged corruption during Boric’s administration, called the “Convenios” case, which involves contracts between public bodies and foundations linked to militants of Revolucion Democratica (RD), party founded by Jackson. The scandal has already cost Boric five resignations in less than two months.
The most recent departure was that of Alejandra Jimenez, who was regional secretary of the Ministry of Cultures of the Metropolitan Region until Tuesday, after an investigation was initiated against her for two transfers to a non-governmental organization of which she was a co-founder. Also noteworthy were the resignations of Tatiana Rojas as Undersecretary of Housing, in June; and of Andrea Gutiérrez as Undersecretary of Cultures, last Friday, for authorizing transfers of resources to an NGO of which she is a member.
Regarding this last case, the government spokeswoman, Camila Vallejo, said that it was due to an “administrative error”. “Not all cases are related to misuse of public resources or theft”, she said at a press conference.
Boric has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing, and has repeatedly said that they will not pardon those who commit crimes during his government. “We do not want and we will not allow corruption to be installed in our homeland. In this we have to be very clear: whoever falls, falls,” he said at the presentation of the fiscal pact.
For the time being, the government has ruled out the option of further cabinet change. The last time it did so was one day before Boric’s first year in office, on March 10, 2023, when five ministers were replaced.
Tension
Pressure for the resignation of Jackson, who escaped a constitutional accusation in January, has gained momentum following the theft of 13 computers and a safe from a Social Development Ministry building in Santiago in the early hours of July 20. In that context, members of the opposition and a senator of a pro-government party are calling for the resignation of Boric’s right-hand man.
Later, Chilean police revealed that the crime was committed by individuals who deceived the Ministry’s security guards, pretending they were Jackson to ask them to let in a supposed nephew of the minister and his companions so they could pick up some notebooks. A Santiago court charged several people for the crime, including a 60-year-old woman with a criminal record.
The Minister assures that this lent itself to “many interpretations, even criminal charges”, which he described as slander, by some political adversaries.
After this episode, more computers were stolen from the offices of other public entities; among them, the Ministry of Transportation, the Undersecretariat of Patrimony and the Mejor Niñez service. These events have further raised political tensions in the country.
The “Convenios” case, for its part, was first brought to public attention by the regional media publication, Timeline, which revealed in mid-June that the foundation Democracia Viva, led by a former member of the RD and former partner of a pro-government congresswoman, received more than 400 million Chilean pesos (approximately US$500,000) for consulting work in an area in which it had no experience.
Since then, other transfers of funds between the government and NGOs have been investigated for possible irregularities.
