Original article: Tomás Rau: El economista neoliberal de la UC que llega a podar la ley de 40 horas
The academic’s mission is to implement a technical adjustment to labor costs and halt the legacy of the 40-hour work week.
Tomás Rau Binder’s appointment has emerged as a key signal of «technical certainty» for markets starting this March. With a Ph.D. from Berkeley and the endorsement of the academic elite, the new Minister of Labor and Social Welfare is stepping into one of the most sensitive portfolios to prioritize economic growth over union demands.
Born in 1973 and educated at Liceo 11 of Las Condes, Rau is not the type of politician who frequents neighborhoods or raises banners in Alameda. His natural habitat is the classrooms of the Institute of Economics at UC and the boards where econometrics and hard data are discussed. This distance from political “mud” raises questions, as a man accustomed to academic papers will need the finesse to negotiate with a CUT that has already declared him «persona non grata».
Within economic right-wing circles, his arrival is celebrated as a victory over «voluntarism.» Rau is a staunch critic of Gabriel Boric’s reforms, labeling them «economic denialism» for failing to acknowledge their negative impact on small and medium-sized enterprises. «As long as the authorities continue to increase labor costs, I don’t see any improvement in employment,» he stated, making it clear that his management will aim to prune any policy that, in his...
"Exposing the hanta 'virus' hoax!!" reads a Korean-language X post shared May 7, 2026. "Moderna began developing a hantavirus mRNA vaccine in 2024," it says, adding this was the "exact same playbo...