Jaime José Mañalich Muxi (June 7, 1954) is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an physician (

nephrologist Nephrology (from Greek'' nephros'' "kidney", combined with the suffix ''-logy'', "the study of") is a specialty of adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function (ren ...

), and former

Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Count ...

. He held the position during the first Piñera government (2010-2014) and assumed the role again in June 2019 until he was replaced in June 2020 amidst criticism over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile. The widespread eye injuries were one of the topics addressed during the

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

of Minister of the Interior and Public Security

Andrés Chadwick Andrés Pío Bernardino Chadwick Piñera (born 2 January 1956) is a Chilean right-wing politician and lawyer, member of the Independent Democrat Union (UDI) party. He began his political career as a supporter of the Pinochet dictatorship, and was ...

in November 2019. On November 20 Mañalich declared to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

that there was twelve persons with the loss of one eye and about thirty with serious injuries.

References

Living people 1954 births Chilean Ministers of Health People from Santiago University of Chile alumni 2010 Copiapó mining accident Chilean nephrologists {{Chile-med-bio-stub