Weekly Report - 21 July 2011 (WR-11-29)

President Sebastián Piñera was forced into making sweeping cabinet changes this week as the protests against his government pick up a momentum of their own. The most important changes were bringing in political heavyweights from his senior coalition partner, the ultra conservative Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI): Pablo Longueira, a former UDI president and a senator, takes over as economy minister; and another veteran UDI Senator, Andrés Chadwick, as the new government spokesman. Piñera opted to keep his close confidant, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, on as interior minister, but chose to move Joaquín Lavín, the beleaguered education minister, to the planning ministry (Mideplan).