From Santiago
There is only one topic that is talked about in the misguided Santiago de Chile: the constitutional accusation against Sebastián Piñera filed by the opposition on Wednesday. This after knowing in detail the irregularities of the sale of Minera Dominga appeared in the Pandora Papers. The operation was carried out using the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands and with the conditional payment of the third installment in exchange for no regulatory changes during his government. The lack of probity and compromising the honor of the nation were the main reasons, although there is a detail that Piñera’s judicial team may use legally: all this happened in 2010 during his first term, not in the current one.
Chileans are not too surprised: the trans-Andean president is famous for saving himself from all threats: while some subway stations were burned by perpetrators still unknown during the first day of the Social Outbreak two years ago, he was eating pizza in the upper neighborhood of the city and when they wanted to accuse him constitutionally a few weeks later, the Agreement for Peace was achieved, which ended in the writing of the New Constitution that will replace Pinochet’s in 1980.
Piñera: “politics is not just confrontation”
Along with your good fortune is his almost supernatural ability to do business on the edge of the law like the one that caused the bankruptcy of the Bank of Talca in 1982 where Piñera —as general manager— was responsible for doubtful payments to “ghost” companies, even being a fugitive from justice (although he accuses persecution) or in 2011 when his family Office Bancard bought shares of the Peruvian fishing company Exalmar in full litigation with Chile by marine limits in the north, taking advantage of the 22 thousand kilometers assigned to Peru by the court of The Hague, being finally dismissed.
Today at a press point, faithful to his strategy of lowering the profile of the matter, he asked to return to the real problems of Chilean citizens. “It is good, in the midst of so much tension and confrontation, to remember that politics is not just a confrontation between the government and the opposition, or between political parties or candidates with different positions, politics must always privilege the higher good of Chile and work tirelessly for improve the quality of life of all our compatriots “.
He said it while presenting the plan “Anti gangs, weapons and drug trafficking” that, added to the decree of State of Emergency of the Bíobío and Araucanía region, seeks to divert attention to security issues and police surveillance, a historical wild card of the Chilean right.
Sichel, down
Although all the polls indicate that the favorite for the presidential elections on November 21 is Gabriel Boric of the I Approve Dignity coalition that includes the young Frente Amplio and the Communist Party, its rivals have changed. If a couple of months ago, the independent and chameleonic Sebastián Sichel, Piñera’s favorite, the ruling party grouped in the Chile Vamos conglomerate and the big business people walked through the media threatening those who wanted to take photos with him and then approve the fourth retirement of the 10% funds from the AFPs – the Chilean pension system – must now endure blows from all fronts, including the situation of Piñera, from which he seeks to dissociate himself while being careful not to condemn him, something quite complex.
Saul Iglesias appeared first, the one who acted as his father when he was a boy, saying that his story as a poor child, who even drank “sea flea soup” and who managed to advance with sheer effort, was only a sales pitch for his figure. public. Later, he was pressured to admit that he effectively withdrew 10% of the AFPs despite being against the initiative. And now it is revealed that He has currently received financing from gas marking companies and also in his failed adventure as a candidate for deputy for the DC (and when he bore the surname “Iglesias”) although he himself has manifested himself against this type of contributions that would obviously seek retribution once in power.
Precisely the candidate Yasna Provoste (DC) of the Constituent Unit – which includes other parties of the former Concertación such as the PS, PPD and Radical – accused him in the presidential debate on Monday of “lobbying” to which he answered angrily and without much felt that he was a lawyer.
Kast: the Chilean Bolsonaro who evades
Jose Antonio Kast of the Republican Party is the candidate far right who believes that communism is dangerous, that he is a friend of torturers from the Pinochet dictatorship such as the beastly Miguel Krassnoff and that he points out, very calmly, that gays should not marry and that ditches should be dug to prevent the arrival of immigrants. Because he believes in God, the country and social networks, where he is able to mobilize the same type of supporter of Trump, Bolsonaro or Milei to post in his favor or say that he “destroyed” his rivals when clearly the opposite happened.
With this provocative speech that appeals to a certain obsession of the Chilean with order, old values and the German – in the country the European nation was key in the industrialization process of the south – has managed to displace Sichel as a favorite. According to the Data Influye survey released on August 7, Boric leads with 27.5%, followed by Kast (16.1%), Sichel (12.1%) and Provoste (11.5%).
Kast’s strategy to “conquer” votes is the same as that of Trump or Bolsonaro: catch his opponents by surprise with data of dubious origin (for example, that countries where abortion is legal have higher maternal mortality rates), appeal to national values and send journalists who try to find out about the origin of his family to study history, because in his logic his father was not a Nazi … although he was a soldier in Hitler’s time. Nevertheless, In Monday’s debate, he was seen losing control when an intelligent Boric, using the same strategy, asked him about “Cecilio Roberto Moreno.”. Kast, uncomfortable, said no, while the candidate explained that it was the Panama notary who validated his investments in tax havens. Something that, evidently, would deny his “patriotism” to which, without being able to give a better answer, he invited him to take a drug test. After the debate, Boric would say that he would gladly do it, when he brings those 21 million dollars to Chile and pays taxes.
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