During the afternoon of this Wednesday, the government of President José Antonio Kast confirmed the resignation of the Regional Ministerial Secretary of Economy of the O'Higgins Region, Juan Carlos Meléndez Santelices.
This came just hours after the departures were announced of the Regional Ministerial Secretary of Housing and Urbanism of the Metropolitan Region, Sebastián Norambuena, and of the Regional Ministerial Secretary of Social Development and Family of the Metropolitan Region, Kattia Durán.
The former submitted "his voluntary resignation from his position at the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism, which will take effect as of today, September 30," as reported by that same ministry.
For her part, Kattia Durán left her post for "family reasons," as officially stated by Social Development, adding that her resignation will take effect as of October 1.
Meléndez's departure
In a statement released this afternoon, the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism announced that Meléndez "has submitted his resignation from the position this Wednesday, September 30, 2026, which will take effect immediately."
It then detailed that Sebastián Vargas Ibaceta was appointed as his replacement, and he will assume the position as of October 1, 2026.
"Sebastián Vargas is an Agricultural Engineer from Universidad Mayor and holds a Master's degree in Forestry and Agricultural Business Administration from the same institution," the ministry added in its statement.
The ministerial authorities also praised and tha…
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PoliticsWith the resignation of Juan Carlos Meléndez Santelices, the number of authorities who have left their positions at the regional level since March 11 rises to 42. Former seremi Juan Carlos Meléndez Santelices alongside President José Antonio Kast. Photo: Archive. CommentsOn Wednesday afternoon, the government of President José Antonio Kast confirmed the resignation of the regional ministerial secretary of Economy of the O’Higgins Region, Juan Carlos Meléndez Santelices. This came just hours after the departures were announced of the seremi of Housing and Urbanism of the Metropolitan Region, Sebastián Norambuena, and the seremi of Social Development and Family of the Metropolitan Region, Kattia Durán. The former submitted "his voluntary resignation from his position at the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism, which will take effect as of today, September 30," as reported by that same ministry. For her part, Kattia Durán left her post for "family reasons," as officially stated by Social Development, adding that her resignation will take effect as of October 1. Meléndez's departureIn a statement released this afternoon, the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism announced that Meléndez "submitted his resignation from the position this Wednesday, September 30, 2026, which will take effect immediately." It then detailed that Sebastián Vargas Ibaceta was appointed as his replacement, and he will assume the position as of October 1, 2026. "Sebastián Vargas is an Agronomic Engineer from Universidad Mayor and holds a Master's degree in Agricultural and Forestry Business Administration from the same institution," the ministry added in its statement. The ministerial authorities also valued and thanked the work of the departing seremi as the ministry's representative in the O’Higgins Region, and wished his replacement "the greatest success in his new duties as a regional authority." With Meléndez's departure, the number of authorities who have left their positions at the regional level since March 11 rises to 42, reaching 52 nationwide. More on:GovernmentRegional Ministerial Secretary of EconomySeremiO’Higgins RegionJuan Carlos MeléndezSebastián NorambuenaKattia DuránPolitics