SANTIAGO, (Reuters) – Chile President Michelle Bachelet said she will reshuffle her entire cabinet in the next few days, a surprise announcement that indicates the depth of her concern about a collapse in her popularity.
“A few hours ago I requested the resignation of all the ministers, and I will take 72 hours to decide who will stay and who will go,” she said in an interview with a local TV station last evening.
Center-left Bachelet’s popularity has hit an all-time low in recent weeks after a series of corruption scandals. Earlier on Wednesday, the latest poll showed that disapproval of the president was still growing.
As well as a scandal over illicit campaign financing that has mostly drawn in opposition politicians, Bachelet herself has been tainted by questions over a bank loan and lucrative land deal that benefited her daughter-in-law.
Although she has always maintained she was unaware of the deal, in the program on Wednesday night – titled ‘What is going on with Chile?’ – Bachelet said she made “important mistakes” in not returning from holiday or commenting on the case in a timely way.
The fuss over the scandals has overshadowed her political agenda at a time when she is trying to push through ambitious labor, education and other reforms.