We're doing things, but people don't seem to feel them
En tiempos de crisis, los gobiernos enfrentan una doble batalla: la que se libra en las calles y la que se libra en la percepción ciudadana. El gobierno del presidente Kast ha reorganizado su gabinete para reforzar la respuesta en materia de seguridad, reconociendo que las acciones concretas —operativos policiales, decomisos de drogas, procedimientos anticontrabando— no han logrado traducirse en una narrativa coherente que llegue a la ciudadanía. En un período de gobierno de emergencia, la velocidad de las decisiones importa, pero también la claridad con que se comunican.
- El gobierno admite una brecha peligrosa: las acciones de seguridad existen, pero la ciudadanía no las percibe ni las siente.
- La reestructuración del gabinete genera preguntas sobre si el cambio refleja corrección de rumbo o señal de debilidad política.
- Los operativos en zonas norte, los decomisos y los procedimientos anticontrabando han sido comunicados de forma fragmentada, sin una narrativa unificadora.
- El nuevo ministro de Seguridad, Martín Arrau, deberá presentar ante el Senado el 2 de junio un plan con parámetros, objetivos y métricas concretas.
- La prueba real no es el plan en sí, sino si esa presentación logra reconstruir la confianza pública en un gobierno que ya reconoció sus propias fallas de comunicación.
El gobierno del presidente José Antonio Kast ha realizado un ajuste de gabinete que su propio ministro del Interior, Claudio Alvarado, defiende no como señal de fracaso, sino como la clase de recalibración que exige gobernar en modo de emergencia. La seguridad necesitaba más músculo institucional, mejor coordinación y mayor foco dentro del ejecutivo. En tiempos de crisis, argumentó Alvarado, las decisiones deben ser rápidas y los errores tempranos deben reconocerse sin calcular el costo político.
Pero la admisión más reveladora llegó cuando Alvarado reconoció que existe una brecha entre lo que el gobierno hace y lo que la ciudadanía percibe. Operativos policiales conjuntos, decomisos de drogas en el norte, procedimientos contra el contrabando de cigarrillos: todo eso ha ocurrido, pero ha sido comunicado en fragmentos, sin una narrativa coherente que permita a la población ver el esfuerzo como un todo.
El plan de seguridad, según Alvarado, se sostiene sobre tres pilares: control territorial, persecución más eficaz del crimen organizado y fortalecimiento institucional. Las operaciones en Temucuicui fueron citadas como ejemplo del tipo de intervención que el gobierno está dispuesto a ejecutar, aunque reconoció que esas acciones requieren voluntad política, apoyo de las fuerzas del orden y respaldo ciudadano.
El momento decisivo llegará el 2 de junio, cuando el nuevo ministro de Seguridad, Martín Arrau, presente ante el Senado el plan completo, con objetivos, acciones específicas y metas medibles. Es una apuesta por la transparencia y la rendición de cuentas legislativa. Si esa presentación logra cerrar la brecha de percepción que el propio gobierno ha reconocido, está aún por verse.
President José Antonio Kast's government has reshuffled its cabinet, and the Interior Minister is now acknowledging a fundamental problem: the public doesn't believe the security plan is working, even though officials say it is.
Claudio Alvarado, who serves as both Interior Minister and government spokesman, defended the restructuring in an interview with T13's Mesa Central program. He framed it not as a sign of failure but as the kind of course correction any government in crisis mode must be willing to make. Kast, he explained, decided the security portfolio needed more institutional muscle and better coordination across the executive branch—more energy, more force, more focus. In an emergency government, Alvarado argued, decisions have to move fast. You adjust, you recalibrate, you move forward. The president was thinking about the country's interests, not the political cost of admitting early mistakes.
But then Alvarado said something more candid. When asked about the actual security plan itself, he acknowledged a gap between what the government is doing and what people perceive it to be doing. "We're doing things, but people don't seem to perceive them, don't seem to feel them," he said. The government has been running joint police operations. There have been drug seizures in the northern zones. There have been procedures targeting cigarette smuggling and contraband. But the information about these actions has been communicated in isolation, in fragments, without a coherent narrative that reaches the public as a unified effort.
The security plan itself, Alvarado explained, rests on three pillars: territorial control, more effective prosecution of organized crime, and institutional strengthening. He pointed to operations in Temucuicui as an example of the kind of intervention the government is willing to undertake—though he noted that such operations require political will, police and military support, and public backing for the forces deployed.
What comes next is a test of whether the government can close that perception gap. Martín Arrau, the new Security Minister, is scheduled to present the full security plan to the Senate on June 2. That presentation will lay out the parameters, objectives, specific actions, procedures, and measurable targets. It's a moment of transparency, a chance to show legislators and the public exactly what the government intends to do and how it will measure success. Whether that presentation moves the needle on public confidence remains to be seen.
Notable Quotes
We're doing things, but people don't seem to perceive them, don't seem to feel them— Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado
Decisions in an emergency government have to be rapid, because that's how you correct course and move toward your objectives— Claudio Alvarado, paraphrased
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Alvarado think people don't perceive the security efforts if the government is actually conducting operations?
He's saying the operations are real—drug seizures, joint police work, anti-smuggling raids—but they're being reported piecemeal, without a coherent story. Each action stands alone instead of adding up to something the public can see as a coordinated plan.
Is he blaming the media, or the government's own communication?
He's blaming the government. He says the information has been communicated in an "isolated" and "sectorial" way. That's an admission that the cabinet reshuffle includes, implicitly, a need to fix how the government talks about what it's doing.
Why would Kast reshuffle the cabinet if the operations are already happening?
Because perception matters in a security crisis. If people don't feel safer, they don't trust the government, even if arrests are being made. Kast is betting that a stronger Interior Ministry and better coordination will both improve actual security and make sure people know about it.
What's the Senate presentation on June 2 supposed to accomplish?
It's a commitment to transparency. Arrau will present the full architecture of the plan—not just what's been done, but what will be done, with specific metrics. It's a way of saying: here's the strategy, here's how we'll measure it, hold us accountable.
Does Alvarado seem confident this will work?
He seems aware of the problem and willing to name it, which is something. But he's also asking the Senate and the public to wait for June 2 to see the full picture. That's a gamble—it assumes people will believe the plan once they see it on paper.