Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna cast doubt on Saturday over the potential appointment of businessman Andrés Ergas as Chile’s ambassador to the United States. In an interview with Diario Financiero, the head of Chilean diplomacy stopped short of confirming the appointment and warned of the ethical complications surrounding the candidate’s profile.
“That is a question to ask after he is officially named ambassador to the United States, not now. Perhaps we can talk about it later. So many things can happen,” the minister remarked when asked about the rumors that have been gaining traction in political circles.
Conflicts of interest and past ties
Pérez Mackenna acknowledged that he knows Ergas personally, noting that they were both shareholders of Banco de Chile. “We sat next to each other on the board of Banco de Chile, but I knew him before that. He is a shareholder of the bank. Well, everyone who is a shareholder—as I was—is a partner,” the Foreign Minister admitted, as reported by El Mostrador.
The Foreign Minister was emphatic regarding the obstacles a businessman with active commercial interests in the host country would face. While he initially avoided personalizing the debate, El Mostrador highlights that the businessman currently owns several ventures in the United States, which reinforces concerns regarding his suitability. “I believe there are certain incompatibilities, but I do not want to speak about the case of Andrés Ergas because, I repeat, it is nothing more than a rumor that I am not going to take responsibility for,” the minister stated.
“The incompatibility lies in having dual citizenship or holding business interests in a country. I imagine that the person would have to, just as I did, set all of their activities aside,” the official pointed out.
Regarding his ministry’s priorities, the minister emphasized that the central objective is the normalization of bilateral relations with Washington, which he described as damaged. “These are processes; one finishes the journey when one begins to guide foreign investment, increase international trade, and get non-traditional exports moving. We have to work on that,” the Foreign Minister added to El Mostrador.
For now, the government remains tight-lipped regarding the final list of candidates for the U.S. embassy, while the Foreign Minister’s statements leave the door open for a thorough review of the requirements for the position.
