[THREAD] Maybe you don’t know him, but you should hate him as much as you hate Piñera, if not more. 
Cristian Larroulet serves as a senior advisor for policy for Piñera. He and his team are responsible for developing the president’s agenda and leading his media campaign. He works next door to the president, in what is known as “La Moneda’s second floor”.
As soon as Larroulet started in this position, he imposed a low profile onto him and his team. He complies so well that he’s rarely seen in La Moneda, and the press knows that he won’t talk to them. He’s said: We work hard so that he (Piñera) gets the spotlight.
He’s former director of “Libertad y Desarrollo”, right wing’s favorite think tank, and founder of Universidad del Desarrollo (one of the most expensive private universities in Chile).
Larroulet has navigated unscathed through this administration’s worst times, and has always been backed up by Piñera who consideres him “intelligent and level-headed”.
They met working for Hernán Büchi’s presidential campaign in 1989. In this occasion it was Larroulet himself who recommended Piñera since he: “has openly criticized Pinochet’s administration and also voted him out in the referendum”, said one of Büchi’s advisors.
Larroulet became close to Jaime Guzmán and Joaquín Lavín when he was a student at @ucatolica’s Business School. After the coup d’état, he became president of this university’s student federation, assembled by Pinochet himself. In 1977, he left Chile to study abroad (Chicago).
During Piñera’s first administration, Larroulet was chief of staff (position now in charge of Felipe Ward, and Gonzalo Blumel before him) and he kept this position until the end of the period.
For Piñera’s current administration, Larroulet was named senior advisor, replacing María Luisa Brahm (now President of The Constitutional Court). It’s well known that Larroulet and Brahm constantly fought over the alleged liberal influence that she had on Piñera.
Once Larroulet was set in his position, he started working with Andrés Chadwick (minister of internal affairs) as a power duo. While Chadwick worked on everyday subjects, Larroulet always kept an eye on the future trying to secure Piñera’s historical legacy.
Piñera’s containment strategy of this social crisis was devised by Larroulet. He masterminded everything, from the very first actions issued under the social agenda, to the cabinet reshuffle. Larroulet always expected that the crisis would weaken as time elapsed.
After Piñera got only 9% of support in the Pulso Ciudadano Poll, criticism started flooding La Moneda’s 2nd floor for the first time. Members of right wing governing parties (UDI, Evopoli & RN) have blamed Larroulet for this Government’s inability to solve the full-blown crisis.
Always lurking in the shadows, Larroulet —a quintessential Chicago Boy— is still in his position, using his liberal orthodoxy to exert a strong influence on the president, leading the country into an unprecedented chaos.
Original thread (spanish):
