Camila Vallejo, the best evaluated minister in Chile and who "puts out the fires" of the government of Gabriel Boric – Up Jobs News

SANTIAGO, Chile.- Half seriously, half jokingly, inside the Palacio de La Moneda they say that Gabriel Boric is lucky to have someone on his team who is capable of putting out fires.

The analogy does not refer to an expert in the area of ​​security or emergencies, but points to an official who has achieved notoriety for her ability to deactivate – or redirect – the continuous communication errors that have dragged on in the almost five months that the new administration.

Camila Vallejo (34 years old) is the government spokesperson minister and is the best evaluated woman in the cabinet of the left-wing conglomerate. Politically forged in the Communist Youth and under the umbrella of student revolution that was conceived in 2011 and 2012 in demand for free and quality education, today the public official is located on the other side and from her position of power she has capitalized on a position of exposure that allows her to show off her political talent.

“She has a communication skills based on an adequate control of the situation from which the messages are sent, as well as preparation in the handling and production of information, which makes it not make mistakes”, evaluated Claudio Elórtegui-Gómez, researcher in political communication at the Catholic University from Valparaiso.

“Their expertise politics, based on a continuous improvement of the rhetorical argumentation at the level of university assemblies, partisan and then parliamentary instruction, gives it a communicational solidity developed over the years. All this is transmitted through sober, direct content, designed for television statements and not forgetting the citizen focuswhich allows closeness and credibility”, added the academic.

Since she emerged as president of the Federation of Students of the University of Chile and then consolidated for two terms as a deputy, Vallejo (a geographer by profession) became one of the most recognizable leaders and faces of the transformation process in which the country was immersed. at the gates of plebiscite on september 4 that will decide if a new Constitution is approved or rejected, she continues to play an important role.

“She was an unconditional ally of the reform program of Michelle Bachelet and was key in articulating the presidential primary between Boric and [el líder comunista] Daniel Jadue, an agreement that later led to the current government coalition and gave life to the process”, recalled Rodrigo Espinoza, coordinator of the UDP Electoral Political Observatory.

That specific weight, in fact, also served to add popular support. According to the survey called Mori-Faithful Labor Barometer that was released this Friday, the minister of the General Secretariat of Government is the politician with the greatest future in the country. According to the study, Vallejo concentrated a 52% of preferences and far from the mayor of Providencia, the rightist Evelyn Matthei who reached 29%, and the Minister Secretary General of the Presidency, Giorgio Jackson, who reached 23%.

“Unlike other cabinet personalities like the interior minister, Izkia Siches; the head of the economics portfolio, Nicholas Grau or the president himself, Vallejo has a slower way of transmitting, calmer, more serene and very clear, without falling into contradictions or making mistakes like the rest of the political team. Along with the Minister of Finance, MarioMarcel, are the ‘fire extinguishers’ of La Moneda,” commented Rodrigo Espinoza, also an academic at the UDP school of political science.

Since he assumed the government of Boric -his generation partner-, Vallejo had to go out continuously to give explanations for various controversies. It happened when the current president created a cabinet with the name of his partner and had to back down, or when Izkia Siches herself falsely accused the previous government of having returned a plane with people expelled from the country.

“Well, that’s part of my job,” Vallejo replied when asked how he dealt with the mistakes of the government itself. “Every time problems arise due to statements in an interview, due to sayings, we talk, we say ‘what happened? what did you say? What did you try to say? And well, stop before, because Citizens must be answered”, added the minister, who also made a mea culpa.

“There are statements that, of course, are unfortunate, we have made those kinds of mistakes. But it is also always important to show not only what we say, but what we are doing”, the official pointed out.

With his arrival in government, Vallejo also began to explore a more playful facet when communicating progress and has promoted the use of social networks focused on younger audiences such as Instagram and TikTok. In the first, he even made live broadcasts with interviews with other ministers, and in the second he gave an account of his more territorial work.

“This strategy of bring the work of the ministers closer to the young voterhas to do with approaching the hard core of the Broad Front electorate that was key to electing Boric and will also be key to approving the new Constitution in the next plebiscite”, analyzed the academic Rodrigo Espinoza.

Chosen by newspaper readers Guardian as “person of the year” 2011 and a figure of international scope, Vallejo also spearheaded the dissemination of the new constitutional process. This caused the opposition to accuse her of electoral interventionism before the Comptroller who opened an investigation.

“We knew it was going to happen and we are going to deliver all the information that is required to clear up and dispel doubts, the sooner the better. It is good news and we are going to collaborate by the way, ”said the minister, trying to defuse a new controversy from her trench.

In Chile, precisely, Vallejo is one of the most popular figures and his public notoriety is important. little girl’s mom Adelewho accompanies her in several of her activities, the Chilean communist and feminist politician maintains a relationship with the salsa singer Abel Zicavo.