The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Andrés Allamand, announced this Sunday his resignation to lead the Ibero-American General Secretariat (Segib), amid criticism linked to the ongoing migration crisis in the northern regions of the country bordering the Bolivia and Peru.
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“I tendered my resignation“, declared Andrés Allamand in Santiago, on his return from a trip to Spain, and after having been elected in November secretary general of Segib, an institution bringing together the 22 countries of the Ibero-American community. This trip sparked criticism of the minister’s absence from the country, at a time when residents of Iquique and Arica (north) were protesting against the presence of many undocumented migrants, especially Venezuelans.
Some demonstrators have attacked migrant camps, acts described by the UN as “discrimination” and “xenophobia“. “I consider the absence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to deal with the migration crisis as extremely serious“, reacted the deputy of the opposition Jaime Naranjo. “How is it possible that a Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose main function is to look after the interests of the State, works in Madrid in an international organization?asked a deputy, Iván Flores, on social networks.
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“It must be recognized that the situation has given rise to a series of criticisms that affect the government“, replied Andrés Allamand. On Friday, Chile and Bolivia had decided to set up working groups to find solutions to the trafficking of human beings and migrants at their border. The current Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Carolina Valdivia Torres, will succeed Andrés Allamand as head of Chilean diplomacy, the government has announced.