Just two months into his presidency, Chile's far-right leader José Antonio Kast announced the departure of two key ministers in a cabinet shake-up that exposes the gap between populist campaign promises and governing reality.
Trinidad Steinert, the Security Minister who rose to national prominence prosecuting drug trafficking cases in northern Chile, and Mara Sedini, who headed government communications as Secretary General of Government, both resigned Monday following weeks of withering criticism over their performance.
The exits represent a stunning reversal for Steinert in particular, who was presented as the face of Kast's tough-on-crime platform. A former regional prosecutor who built her career on high-profile narcotrafficking cases involving the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, Steinert promised Chileans she would bring the same prosecutorial intensity to the Security Ministry.
Instead, her two-month tenure became mired in controversy over her attempts to influence personnel decisions at the investigative police (PDI) and her apparent lack of a coherent security strategy beyond the talking points that worked on the campaign trail.
"This is what happens when you confuse having the right enemies with having the right answers," said Patricio Navia, a political scientist at New York University who studies Chilean politics. "Steinert was excellent at putting criminals in jail as a prosecutor. Turns out that's very different from designing national security policy."
The swift cabinet changes mark the fastest ministerial departures in recent Chilean democratic history, according to La Tercera. Kast informed ruling coalition party leaders of the changes Monday afternoon, with the official announcement coming at 8 PM.
