Chilean cabinet’s approval ratings tumble amid rape probe

A rape allegation involving Chilean physician turned government crimefighter Manuel Monsalve comes at a critical juncture for the current leftist administration.

Monsalve, who recently stepped down from his role of interior ministry undersecretary, was a key figure in a government crackdown on crime, until a ministry advisor accused him of inviting her to dinner before raping her.

A police investigation has been launched and Monsalve has denied wrongdoing. 

Lawyer and academic Luis Cordero was appointed his replacement.

Boosting public safety tops the public agenda against a backdrop of particularly violent – and previously unseen – crimes, such as drug cartel shootouts and the assassination of police officers.  

Indeed, crime and the government’s achievements on the ground will be a central debate topic next year when the presidential election campaign gets underway.  

Prior to that, Chileans will vote for local and regional lawmakers this weekend, with all eyes on the political color of elected municipal councilors, given candidate lists tend to roughly track established national political fault lines. 

The big question today – and following the rape allegation against Monsalve and a claim that he had ordered detectives to check security camera footage at a hotel where the alleged incident occurred – is what impact this has on voter preference.

While the return to mandatory voting following a recent reform will create challenges for comparisons and forecasting, political scientists will be scrutinizing the data for signs of contagion from the sphere of national politics.

Leftist President Gabriel Boric’s approval ratings were already hovering around the low 30% zone and the exit of Monsalve will not help.

Boric was aware that Monsalve had used interior ministry resources to check the security cameras of the restaurant where he dined with his coworker yet failed to report him or fire him on the spot, the opposition claims. Monsalve only resigned two days after confiding in the president about what he did. A day later, Boric gave an hourlong press conference that was at times confusing and belligerent and which at no point helped clear up what he knew and when he knew it. 

The case appears to have dented Boric's approval ratings and that of other senior officials, including his interior minister Carolina Tohá.

According to a survey conducted last week by pollster Cadem, Boric’s approval rating fell five percentage points to 27%, just three points shy of a nadir of 24% hit in May, when police officers were ambushed and shot dead in the country’s south. Tohá’s approvals, meanwhile, fell 11 points to 35%. Other cabinet heavyweights including finance minister Mario Marcel also saw their approval ratings fall, Marcel’s eight points to 47%.