A wave of resignations and reassignments of senior officials within the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (Minvu) has triggered a management crisis in the department led by Iván Poduje. These departures, which include heads of critical divisions, have slowed the execution of housing projects and fueled growing uncertainty among staff.
Confirmed departures include Victoria Saud Muñoz, head of the Finance Division, and attorney Tomás de Tezcanos, Chief of Staff to Undersecretary Natalia Aguilar. Internal ministry sources attribute these exits to "clashes" and issues regarding the management style of senior officials.
Instability in Ministerial Leadership
While the Ministry has formally denied any allegations of misconduct, staff members claim Saud’s departure stemmed from "differences in communication and management styles" regarding Minister Poduje and Undersecretary Aguilar. The situation involving Michelle Browne, head of the Housing Policy Division, is also causing a stir following reports of an unexplained absence and her subsequent withdrawal of resignation.
A lack of clear communication has exacerbated the situation. Employees report that departures have only been announced via forwarded emails, without any official announcement clarifying the new organizational structure.
“This has created internal unrest and uncertainty regarding policy direction. There is no clear leadership. Internal communication has been deficient,” stated a source within the institution.
This instability is directly impacting regional budgets and investment. Currently, the Finance Division is being led by a career official acting in an interim capacity, which is hindering the smooth implementation of technical guidelines.
The impact of these vacancies is critical to the commitments made by the José Antonio Kast administration. Minister Poduje publicly pledged to complete the reconstruction of Viña del Mar within 15 months—a goal now threatened by administrative paralysis within the execution units.
