Boric defends Jackson from the impeachment attempt: “We demand that the accusations not be made randomly”

Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, and Giorgio Jackson, Minister of Social Development and Family.ANDRÉS PÉREZ CUENCA (MIDESOF)

The Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, has criticized this Wednesday the announcement of the deputies of the Republican Party, of the conservative right, to present a constitutional accusation in the Chamber of Deputies against the Minister of Social Development, Giorgio Jackson. The initiative – widely used in Chile by the opposition to oust ministers – seeks the dismissal of the president’s main political ally in the framework of the Agreements case, a plot of transfers of State resources to private foundations, supposedly destined for social projects, which It has mainly impacted the Democratic Revolution (RD) party of the Chilean Broad Front, founded and led by Jackson. The case, which broke out on June 16, has spread to different regions of the country and there are currently 11 regional prosecutors investigating millionaire transfers to 37 foundations in different parts of Chile.

Boric, in the middle of presenting the layout of a future Metro line, said that “constitutional accusations are a legitimate part of Parliament’s powers, but they must have legal support and not be invented on the fly.” “In this case, I think it would be more transparent to say that there are certain sectors of Chilean politics that are going to do everything possible to get in the way and prevent the government from carrying out its reforms, and that they say so publicly,” added the president.

After the announcement by Republicans to attack Jackson again – it is the second accusation against him that this political force has promoted – the benches of the traditional right-wing parties, the UDI, Renovación Nacional and Evópoli, folded. The accusation seeks the dismissal of Boric’s minister and, to advance in the Chamber of Deputies, 78 of the 155 votes of parliamentarians are required.

“What we demand is that the accusations are not made randomly. Here the accusations that are made have to be made seriously and in particular, when crimes are charged, it has to be done in a well-founded manner and before the corresponding instances, ”said the president this Wednesday.

This is the second constitutional accusation, in six months, that has been presented against Jackson by the Republican Party, a new political force (it was formally founded in 2019) that in the 2021 presidential elections won the first round with its leader, José Antonio Kast , which, however, failed to defeat Boric on the ballot. In the Constitutional Council elections last May, the Republicans achieved a large majority, with 35% of the vote, leaving them with 32 seats. In the Chamber of Deputies, they have 12 parliamentarians, who on Monday will formally present the accusation against the minister closest to the president and his fellow traveler since they were both university leaders in 2011.

Since the scandal over the money mess in the Agreements case broke out, the opposition, especially the UDI, have called for his resignation. Even this party on July 21 cut off the dialogue with the Executive in the midst of the talks for the pension reform promoted by the Executive. In this regard, Boric said today: “We have invited them to talk months ago and for different reasons they do not come to the table, they do not sit down. Or when the meeting is going to be held, they simply say that they are not going to attend until you remove such a minister. And while the pensions are still waiting. This permanent obstruction is not that it harms the Government, in the end it harms the neighbors. And if we want to raise pensions we have to reach an agreement to which no one is going to reach 100% of what they wanted”.

Constitutional accusations are a tool that, in recent years, have been constantly used by the opposition against the current government to overthrow ministers. During Boric’s term, which he took office in March 2022, four have already been submitted and all have been rejected: Izkia Siches (Interior), Giorgio Jackson (in January 2023), Marcela Ríos (Justice) and Marco Antonio Ávila (Education). ). The fifth is the one that will be filed next Monday, according to the announcements.

The Convenios case has several government officials as protagonists, who could be called to testify, soon, by the Prosecutor’s Office. “Here we have known cases of unacceptable embezzlement and corruption, which have no justification. And any authority that is cited will go not only to testify, but also to collaborate actively, because as President of the Republic the mandate that I have given to all my collaborators is that everyone here has to do everything possible so that all these embezzlements Let them know, of sanctions and they will not happen again,” Boric said today, in relation to the possible calls to testify, Jackson, the director of the Budget, Javiera Martínez, and the Minister of Housing, the socialist Carlos Montes, together with the head of advisors to La Moneda, Miguel Crispi.

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