Chilean president signals fresh cabinet reshuffle in November

Reuters
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet stands next to Interior Minister Mario Fernandez during a cabinet reshuffle at the government house in Santiago, Chile October 19, 2016. Ximena Navarro/Courtesy of Chilean Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said in an interview published on Thursday that she is expecting further cabinet changes in November as some current members leave to run in 2017 elections. Her statement follows a separate cabinet reshuffle last week, in which Bachelet replaced the ministers in charge of justice, energy, and national assets. "Without doubt, there are various people with aspirations," Bachelet told Chilean magazine Capital after being asked about the possibility of new cabinet changes. "We've been conversing and asking who wants to be a candidate, and there are people that want to be candidates ... The deadline [for the cabinet change] is soon, during November." Chileans will go to the polls in November 2017 for quadrennial parliamentary and presidential elections. A rout by the right in local elections over the weekend has provided a boost for conservatives who are expected to choose Sebastian Pinera, a wealthy ex-president, as their nominee. (Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)