An unexpected name circulated this week as the next Minister of Defense of the government of José Antonio Kast: a journalist who has directed newspapers and who in the last decade was an executive of CMPC Companies with strong links with La Araucanía. His name is Guillermo Turner Olea (55 years old), journalist from the Gabriela Mistral University, former director of Financial Diary, Pulse y The Third, who in 2009 participated in the Army Reserve Officer Candidate Course (CAOR).
Various sources confirmed that Turner’s name is on the lists of candidates to occupy a portfolio in the government that begins on March 11 and people close to the future administration confirmed that He is one of the names that has the most advantage for Defensea portfolio in which other people in the command placed the former presidential candidate as one of the best-looking candidates. Johannes Kaiserof the National Libertarian Party.
People close to the decision say that the command privileged for leaving Defense in the hands of a civilian and not a former uniformed mananother of the options that were under analysis. Furthermore, Turner, who has not held public office before, would not have aspirations of starting a political career.
Former director of Capital magazine and founder of the newspaper Pulso, he directed La Tercera -of the Copesa group- between 2013 and 2016 and was president of the National Press Association (ANP) and the Federation of Social Communication Media of Chile. In 2016 it reached CMPCin the administration that began that year Luis Felipe Gazitúa as president of the forestry group Matte. There, Turner served as the company’s corporate affairs manager, position from which he had a close connection with La Araucanía: During the last decade he visited the areas most affected by rural violence and held conversations with leaders of the Mapuche world, farmers in the area and soldiers deployed in the area, which gave him some knowledge of Defense issues. That experience would have been of interest to the new administration.
Turner was contacted weeks ago, after the first presidential round in November, by José Antonio Kast’s command, with whom he has already had meetings. Shortly before, the journalist left CMPC, seven months after the arrival of Bernardo Larraín Matte to the presidency of the company, replacing Gazitúa. Turner has been associate director of the agency Feedback Comunicaciones since December 1, according to his LinkedIn account..
Due to his time in the CAOR, in 2009, Turner has the rank of second lieutenant, but he stopped attending Army activities due to scheduling problems and because until 2016 he had front-line positions in the media.
Although his appointment must be confirmed on February 20, when the cabinet is announced, those who know him say that among his objectives would be to consolidate the good evaluation of the Armed forces before public opinion and propose a new Defense Policy that takes into account the updates made on this matter by countries such as the United States, Great Britain and Australia, which would imply discarding a document prepared by the current government and that would be in the process of publication.
