In his first month in the Treasury, the economist seeks to put Chile at the forefront of recovery, take advantage of the copper boom and above all, negotiate the pension reform to avoid a third withdrawal of pension funds. The meetings he has held these days, the names of the people who make up his circle of trust and the changes he has made in Teatinos 120, provide some clues about how he will carry out his agenda.
1. Super Tuesday
They say in Teatinos 120 that during his first week at Hacienda Rodrigo Cerda Norambuena practically did not leave his office. Contrary to what his predecessor, Ignacio Briones did – who on the same day he landed in the ministry, in October 2019, called a meeting with the advisers and then held 15-minute bilateral meetings with each one of them separately, the former Budget Director chose to lock himself in the office to read, read, and read.
It only came out on Tuesday, February 2. And he already had his perfectly square schedule with appointments that he himself requested. He left for the CPC. At the headquarters of Monsignor Sótero Sanz he met with the president of the institution, Juan Sutil; the general manager of the union, Fernando Alvear; the leader of the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (Abif), José Manuel Mena, and the helmsman of the National Society of Agriculture (SNA), Ricardo Ariztía. They spoke of economic reactivation, taxes and investment protection. From there he went to the CUT to meet with Bárbara Figueroa. Unintentionally, they emphasize, he marked a milestone: he became the Prime Minister of Finance of the Piñera era to attend the union’s offices, located in the iconic house of Alameda 1346. With the leader they discussed the minimum wage and Family Income of emergency. At the end of the day, Cerda met with the National Association of Fiscal Employees (ANEF), where they discussed the issues of growth and job recovery.
In the 30 days that she has been in charge of the Ministry of Finance, Cerda met telematically with “practically the entire cabinet”, according to a close friend – many of them were on vacation outside of Santiago – and held conversations with international personalities such as the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva and the Secretary General of the OECD, José Ángel Gurría. With this, they evaluated by videoconference various formulas to overcome the crisis. He also met with the general treasurer, Ximena Hernández; the comptroller Jorge Bermúdez and with the president of the Central Bank, Mario Marcel. In all his conversations, witnesses say, he took notes on his Colón brand pad.
2. The Chicago boy
Rodrigo Cerda jogs —or walks— for at least 45 minutes every day before going to the office, where he sets foot at 8:30 sharp. According to the obligations of the day, it is installed on the meeting table or on your personal desk. Nearby, on a small piece of furniture, he put up two picture frames with photos that were taken with his family — his wife and five children — on the day he became Minister of Finance. He also installed a dedicated frame for each child and a picture with the team from the Budget Office (Dipres). Every night he eats with his family at home, around 10 pm, when he returns from the center.
The “free” moments, they say in Teatinos, are used to read documents and reports. And although he likes to hang out with his advisers, close ones affirm that he does not mind being alone, contrary to the style of his predecessor, whose office was always with the door open and where his team came and went several times a day.
He is defined as someone close, very studious and who has no political ambitions. With a more pragmatic and less political profile than its predecessor, is the Prime Minister of Finance with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago since Rolf Lüders. True to his schooling, he has an obsession with keeping the numbers right, with scoring a significant growth figure for 2021 (over 6%), increasing investment, controlling unemployment, and using the resources of the copper supercycle well.
3. Autopilot?
“He is like a prodigal son, because he returns home”. Last Friday that sentence was one month old. Sebastián Piñera said it at the change of cabinet. At first it was said that Cerda was going to continue with the Briones administration, because the now presidential candidate of Evópoli had left the “automatic pilot running.” And although everything seemed to remain the same, there were moves that were interpreted as a “court scratch.”
The clearest example is that of tax exemptions, a banner raised by its predecessor. Two days after his arrival, on January 28, he received proposals from a group of 18 experts (convened by Briones last October) who recommended eliminating, among other things, the refund of the diesel tax and the benefits to DFL homes. 2. Cerda thanked them for the document, but commented that some data was missing.
Then he put it in the hands of the table made up of the Undersecretariat of Finance, Dipres and the Internal Revenue Service (SII), so that they could analyze it. This move was deciphered, by close friends, as a respectful way to put the project on hold and install a style of its own: to focus first on urgent and short-term issues, such as pensions and the social safety net.
The equipment also did not remain intact. On the same January 26 Claudio Agostini, who led the tariff initiative; Manuel Alcalde, former Coordinator of Tax Policies; Francisca Dussaillant, former coordinator of Labor Policy and the former chief of staff of Briones, Juan José Obach, resigned from the portfolio. Although the Mayor had been discussing his departure since before the resignation of the president, the other three advisers had come to the Ministry for a personal bond with him. Obach, in fact, went to work formally in the Briones pre-campaign.
4. Iron circle
Changes within the ministry forced Cerda to bring in people she trusted. He decided to sign three professionals with whom he worked at Dipres: the lawyer Thomas de la Maza, current chief of staff; the Economist Cristóbal Gamboni, who is today the Macroeconomic coordinator, and the journalist Carola Palma, who is his closest press adviser. Silvia Leiva also came to replace Francisca Dussaillant; The lawyer Daniela veas, who will lead the area of International Affairs, and the expert lawyer in tax policy, Javiera Suazo, in replacement of Mayor.
This week, in addition, the landing of Francisco Larraín Stieb, in charge of the Capital Markets department. The economist had been working since March 2018 on the second floor of La Moneda. Cerda expressly requested it to complete the equipment.
Apart from the names that came to lead certain areas of the ministry, Hugo Caneo, Lorena Palomo and Javiera Bravo also joined. The cast of Hacienda has two characteristics: it is young and equal.
Outside his circle of advisers, Cerda talks weekly with former minister Felipe Larraín, whom he has known since 2004 when they met at the UC Institute of Economics. Later, in Piñera 1, he was the macroeconomic coordinator of the Treasury while Larraín led the ministry. When the first government ended, they both went to Clapes UC, and the same in March 2020. They not only talk about labor issues – the former minister sends him whatsapps congratulating him when Cerda does something “positive” – but also personal ones. “They have a relationship of friends”, they declare in the environment of both.
He also has arrival with Mauricio Villena, dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the Diego Portales University. His close circle is completed by the economist Sergio Urzúa; the counselor of the Central Bank, Rosanna Costa; and the former president of the Central Bank, Rodrigo Vergara.
5. El factor Churchill
Briones and Cerda share a past. Both studied at the French Alliance and then Commercial Engineering at the Catholic University. They were both directors of Codelco and are passionate about history. But at the same time, they have very different personalities and styles. Cerda was president of the student center of his school, he had an active militancy in the Christian Democracy during his university career, and today, although he does not have a party, he is close to the UDI. For the same reason, they say, his partner on the political committee would be the spokesman Jaime Bellolio (UDI).
When it comes to negotiating, unlike Briones – who came to the Treasury without much experience in the corridors of parliament – for Cerda the chamber is familiar ground. During his two years in Dipres, he had to negotiate the 2018 and 2019 budgets. It was there when he acclimated to the rhythms of the legislative discussion. In the middle of the commissions, he managed to connect with different deputies and pro-government and opposition senators. However, unlike before – where it was a technical discussion – now it will have to face political negotiations. Key to this will be the “fluid” relationship that, they say, he has with Yasna Provoste (DC), Ricardo Lagos Weber (PPD), Carlos Montes (PS) and Pablo Lorenzini (DC). In his sector, he is close to Ena von Baer (UDI), Juan Antonio Coloma (UDI) and José García Ruminot (RN).
These days you are reading the book The Churchill Factor, written by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson. His children gave it to him for Christmas, and he has commented that it can serve as inspiration for the discussions to come.
6. The urgent
No doubts. One of Cerda’s greatest challenges is to bring positions closer to the pension reform, a task that he shares with Minister María José Zaldívar. During February, the head of the Treasury called his work partner many times to outline the project’s strategy, where the economist’s mission is to secure an agreement with the opposition. This month he has also held talks with the Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency (Segpres), Juan José Ossa. So far they have an internal plan – which is handled with caution – to achieve rapid progress. The plan leaves tomorrow.
It will not be an easy task. Opposition parliamentarians have already recognized that with the appointment of Cerda, all the progress in recent months fell. Juan Pablo Letelier (PS), president of the Senate Labor committee, points out that since the minister took office, the UDI has become more blunt. “When Ignacio Briones said that he was going to be a presidential candidate, in practical terms the dialogue fell apart. And the senators of Chile Vamos went back to the bill that came out of the Chamber of Deputies. With Rodrigo Cerda we had conversations about good parenting, but no progress was made in substantive meetings to get closer to something, ”he warns.
Other congressmen from the opposition bloc assure that there was not much dialogue during the legislative recess and recognize that the minimum floor to sit down to negotiate is to get all the extra 6% of contribution to go to a solidarity pillar. “As long as the Executive continues with its idea of dividing that 6%, we are not going to support the project,” says a center-left senator.
The government is urgent to reach an agreement to avoid the approval of a third retirement of pension funds. However, in the event that it occurs, the Executive has already said – several times – that it will immediately appeal to the Constitutional Court.
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