## President José Antonio Kast’s administration saw another departure from its ranks this Tuesday with the resignation of Paula Labra as head of the Social Promotion and Protection Division at the Ministry of Social Development and Family. Labra, an independent former deputy aligned with National Renewal (RN), had taken the role on March 11, occupying a high-level position critical to the implementation of social policies and state support programs.
Sources close to the former congresswoman and the ministry, led by María Jesús Wulf, attributed her departure to personal reasons and a new professional opportunity outside the government. As reported by La Tercera, the Ministry of Social Development denied any internal conflict, stating that the decision had been under discussion for several days.
Labra’s career includes her tenure as the Metropolitan Regional Health Secretary (Seremi) during the pandemic, a post she left to run for the Chamber of Deputies for District 18. During her time in Congress, she faced a diagnosis of thyroglossal duct cancer and thyroid cancer, which required her to undergo surgery while continuing her legislative duties. Prior to her appointment in March, Labra served as director of the International Women’s Democracy Union (IWDU).
## In parallel to these personnel changes, the Executive is facing friction with National Renewal regarding the passage of the major reconstruction reform. On Thursday, RN Senate caucus leader María José Gatica criticized the management of Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz, accusing him of lacking "social sensitivity" regarding budget cuts applied to the public health network. In an interview with CNN Chile, Gatica labeled these cuts as her "red line" and demanded the restoration of the funds.
Senator Gatica urged the Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency (Segpres), José García Ruminot, to take a leading role in legislative negotiations for the bill. "He has a vast political background, a vast background in economic matters, and, furthermore, he understands what a social sense means; he understands the real Chile," the senator stated, supporting García Ruminot’s openness to modifying aspects of the initiative, such as the originally proposed 25-year tax stability clause.
Gatica’s stance contrasts with the ambiguity shown by the Finance Minister. While García Ruminot indicated on the podcastCómo te lo explicothat the project would require adjustments, Jorge Quiroz avoided committing to specific changes when speaking to the press, limiting his remarks to saying that modifications could be "this or other things, or other things or nothing at all." Given this, Gatica insisted that it would be "naive" to think the bill submitted by the Kast administration would emerge from Congress without substantial changes.
