Kast Administration Sees 47 Officials Depart in Six Months, Including 37 Seremis

Original article: 37 seremis fuera en seis meses: Gobierno Kast suma 47 salidas de autoridades

Following the resignations of José Bravo, the Seremi of Health for La Araucanía, and Jorge Olivares Puentes, the Seremi of Housing and Urban Development for Antofagasta, the government led by José Antonio Kast has now recorded a total of 37 regional secretaries who have left their positions in just six months.

With these departures occurring within a span of 24 hours, 47 officials have left Kast’s administration, according to the independent Renuncias Kast platform, which tracks resignations, terminations, transfers, and positions that were not filled, updating its data regularly based on press reports.

Specifically, the figures include 37 seremis, three ministers, six undersecretaries, and one presidential delegate.

Two Departures in Less Than 24 Hours

On Tuesday, September 15, it was revealed that doctor José Bravo had stepped down as Seremi of Health for La Araucanía after the government requested his resignation following comments deemed insensitive in light of the Pitrufquén tragedy, where 16 elderly individuals tragically lost their lives in a fire at an illegally operating home, which he compared to a landfill.

According to Bio Bío Chile, the facility had faced reports, inspections, and fines for over six years, leading the press to question the health authority regarding why it had not been shut down.

“Why was it never closed? That is determined based on compliance or non-compliance with legal standards, you have to evaluate just like you would for a landfill. If you close a landfill and have nowhere to dispose of the waste, you create a problem worse than the one you aim to solve,” Bravo stated.

Additionally, when asked about the progress of the national inspection process for elderly care facilities announced by Kast, he responded: “You ask a soldier what to take… decisions need to be made by the generals”.

Following these comments, the Ministry of Health confirmed that La Moneda requested the doctor’s resignation, stating that «public functions must be conducted with responsibility, prudence, and sensitivity, especially in a painful context,» as reported by the aforementioned media outlet.

The day before, on Monday, September 14, it was disclosed that Jorge Olivares, Seremi of Housing and Urban Development for Antofagasta, had left the position due to «serious shortcomings» in executing an agreement for housing construction in the region after receiving a request from the government to resign.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development indicated in a public statement that Olivares «submitted his voluntary resignation on Monday, September 14, 2026,»

However, in a message posted on his account on X, Housing Minister Iván Poduje stated that “the Seremi of Antofagasta was asked to resign due to serious shortcomings in regional agreement management.”

The mentioned agreement is titled “More Homes, Better Region, Antofagasta 2023-2028” and was signed between Serviu and the Regional Government of Antofagasta. Initially, it included the construction of 8,733 housing solutions through 42 initiatives; however, in a subsequent amendment to the agreement, Serviu reduced this number to 3,268 homes.

“The current calculations, the actual calculations we have, do not match (…). It does not account for the 8,000 homes that are currently expected, but rather for 3,200 homes,” Olivares indicated in statements reported by Timeline.

This prompted the regional governor of Antofagasta, Ricardo Díaz, to announce that he would appeal to the Comptroller’s Office and question the modification of the agreement.

Why Have 47 Officials Resigned from Kast’s Government?

The departures of Bravo and Olivares mark the latest in a series of resignations that have characterized the first six months of President José Antonio Kast’s administration.

The ministers who have left their posts include former spokeswoman Mara Sedini, former minister of Security Trinidad Steinert, and former Sports Minister Natalia Duco.

Among the undersecretaries who have resigned are Rafael Araos, undersecretary of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation; Andrés Jouannet, undersecretary of Public Security; Ana Victoria Quintana, undersecretary of Crime Prevention; Daniela Castro, undersecretary of Women and Gender Equity; Juan Pablo Rodríguez, undersecretary of Finance; and Andrés Otero, undersecretary of Sports.

Recurring reasons for these departures include the cases of Juan Pablo Rodríguez, Eduardo Leiva, Marcelo Vergara, and Jorge Heiden who left their positions after testing positive for drugs.

Records also indicate cases of seremis who failed to meet academic or professional requirements, as well as controversies over social media posts.

Other notable cases include the withdrawal of Patrick Dugan‘s appointment as Seremi of Energy after he failed to report to work or answer phone calls, and Karla Kepec, who stepped down as Seremi of Health for Arica and Parinacota after it was revealed she sought staff for her division through a WhatsApp group of the Republican Party.

She shared a job offer for the Seremi of Health in Arica with the stipulation that candidates must be Republican or their children.