Chilean President Michelle Bachelet denies rumours she is resigning amid son's corruption scandal

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, whose oldest son is at the centre of a controversial corruption case, affirmed on 8 April that she would not be resigning from office.

"Just in case, if anyone had any doubts, I have not resigned, and I do not plan on doing it. Nor do I know how to do that constitutionally," Bachelet said to a group of foreign correspondents, according to 24Horas.

She added, "And not only will we not resign, but we are going to keep working on [the issues] we committed ourselves to with the country."

According to 24Horas, the president's son Sebastián Dávalos is being investigated after his wife's company Caval purchased land in the south of Chile with the aid of $10m (£6.7m) he secured from Banco de Chile. His wife, identified as Natalia Compagnon, owns 50% of Caval, Emol reported.

The land was later sold at a higher price, after development plan changes were made, earning the company nearly $5m. The scandal forced Dávalos to step down as head of Bachelet's charity. According to Emol, Dávalos's testimony to O'Higgins regional prosecutor Luis Toledo was postponed on 7 April due to scheduling issues.

Reuters also reported that the Chilean leader has shrugged off recent low poll numbers and instead said she would focus on an ambitious plan for reform.

Bachelet used her election campaign to promise voters she would raise corporate taxes to overhaul education, reform labour relations and change the electoral system enacted by dictator Augusto Pinochet.