Culture Minister Quits Four Days After Appointment

 

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Monday accepted the resignation of his Minister of Culture Mauricio Rojas, who spent just four days on the job.

 

Rojas’s resignation came after revelations that he had questioned the role of the country’s Museum of Memory and Human Rights, which honors the victims of the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).

“We don’t share his opinions and comments with respect to the mission of the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, which preserves the testimony, evidence and what was learned during a very dark period in our country,” Pinera said when he announced the resignation.

 

In 2016, Rojas criticized the concept of the museum, saying it represented “a shameful and deceitful use of a national tragedy that touched so many of us,” according to the daily El Mercurio.

 

His controversial comments were published by another daily over the weekend, sparking outrage from different groups, including the museum’s directors.

 

Rojas, a former speech writer for Pinera, had taken the post when Pinera made changes to his cabinet on Thursday.

 

Consuelo Valdes Chadwick, the ex-director of the Mirador Interactive Museum, was chosen to replace him.

 

-NAN