Original article: “¿Por qué inventaría algo tan grotesco? ”: Araos desmiente versión de Lincolao y confirma plan de despidos masivos «Why Would I Invent Something So Grotesque? »: Araos Disputes Lincolao’s Version and Confirms Massive Layoff Plans The departure of Rafael Araos from the Undersecretary of Science not only represented a significant loss for José Kast’s Government in technical terms but also unveiled an internal conflict that threatens to widen the rifts between the political and academic sectors.
In his first statement after leaving office, the former undersecretary broke his silence and stated: «Why would I — or anyone else — invent something so grotesque? » With this question, he not only refuted Minister Ximena Lincolao but also confirmed the existence of a plan for mass layoffs within the department, something the authority had categorically denied. Araos asserted that «the order to design and execute a plan for mass layoffs was real» and that there are witnesses who can vouch for it.
He confirmed that behind his resignation were “profound differences of both substance and form» with Lincolao, «about how to tackle the same challenge. » In an interview with CHV, the epidemiologist maintained that «the order to design and execute a plan for mass layoffs was real» and reiterated that there are witnesses who can corroborate this. “Was it the only reason I resigned?
No, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back,» he explained, shedding light on the accumulated tensions during his term. Araos Confirms «Profound Differences of Substance and Form» with Lincolao He recounted that behind his resignation were “profound differences of both substance and form regarding how to tackle the same challenge,» although he did not provide further details about these disagreements. What is clear is that his account clashes directly with the official narrative that Minister Lincolao attempted to establish, as reported by Bio Bío Chile.
According to La Tercera, the disagreements between Lincolao and the Harvard-trained infectious disease specialist, with a recognized trajectory in public health during the pandemic, were no secret and tensions began on Thursday, April 30, when amid Kast’s budget cuts, the Secretary of State instructed the then-undersecretary to implement a layoff plan affecting nearly 40 individuals, approximately 30% of the total staff of the ministry, a directive he had refused to follow. Lincolao’s trip to the United States — as part of the chancellor’s delegation for the “Choose Chile” program — temporarily froze the conflict, but before leaving, she gave clear instructions that the layoffs must happen, come what may. This order became the definitive breaking point, and her return to the country reignited the accumulated tension, leading to Araos’s resignation, along with that of two of his closest collaborators, Camila Skewes, chief of staff, and Alejandra Tagle, head of the Legal Division.
Lincolao: «If Changes Are Necessary, It’s Better to Make Them Quickly» Following the news of Araos’s departure, the Science Minister offered comments to Emol, where she labeled as false the existence of a list containing forty names of employees to be laid off. “The story that there is a list of forty people who will be laid off is false. That list does not exist,” she asserted, downplaying the significance of Araos’s departure by stating that there was no mass exit of collaborators.
“He left, the chief of staff he came with, and a lawyer he brought. Ultimately, he left with the two people he arrived with,” she pointed out. However, the minister herself acknowledged that notable differences existed in the way the Undersecretariat was managed.
“I come from a different party. In the United States, things move at a different speed, and I had differences in style and work with him,” she declared, justifying her more vertical and accelerated approach to implementing changes. “If changes are necessary, it’s better to make them quickly,” she added.
Despite the tone of her comments, Lincolao attempted to close this chapter without further personal friction with the politically unaffiliated professional she had recruited for his experience as the head of the Epidemiology Department at Minsal during the pandemic and his leadership in epidemiological surveillance platforms. “I won’t say anything bad about him. He’s a good person, and I wish him the best,” she stated.
Nevertheless, this conciliatory gesture does little to mask the magnitude of the rift and ongoing tensions within Kast’s government. The departure of Araos adds to a list of 20 regional ministers who have already chosen the same path.