Members of the Communist Party (PC), of Chile, ignored a statement signed by that political party and other leftist movements, in which they support the Government of Nicaragua and they defend the votes in which Daniel Ortega was reelected without political competition, since he was not consulted within the organization that is part of the political coalition I Approve Dignity.
The first to reject the statement was the presidential candidate of Approve Dignity, Gabriel Boric, who invited the PC “to retract” and assured that “the statement does not represent” the coalition. “I have discussed it with several militants of the CP and they are surprised,” Boric told the media in his country.
Through Twitter he clarified that in his government “the commitment to democracy and human rights will be total, without endorsements of any kind for dictatorships and autocracies, whoever bothers them. Nicaragua needs democracy, not fraudulent elections or persecution of opponents ”.
In our government, the commitment to democracy and human rights will be total, without endorsements of any kind for dictatorships and autocracies, whoever bothers them. Nicaragua needs democracy, not fraudulent elections or persecution of opponents.
– Gabriel Boric Font (@gabrielboric) November 12, 2021
Also the communist deputy Camila Vallejo indicated: “This statement was not discussed or resolved by the collective leadership of the party. We condemn human rights violations in Nicaragua, Chile and anywhere in the world. Gabriel Boric will be our president and he will be the one who defines the foreign policy of the government of Approve Dignity ”.
This statement was neither discussed nor resolved by the collective leadership of the party. We condemn human rights violations in Nicaragua, Chile and anywhere in the world. Gabriel Boric will be our pdte. and he will be the one who defines the foreign policy of the Govt of Approve Dignity. https://t.co/U7hchluyIt
– Camila Vallejo Dowling (@camila_vallejo) November 12, 2021
Vallejo’s statements were supported by the Communist Youth through Twitter: “We support what was expressed by Camila Vallejo in relation to the fact that the statement made was not discussed or resolved by the collective leadership of the PC. We condemn any violation of human rights in Nicaragua, Chile and anywhere in the world ”.
The controversial declaration signed by the PC and also by the Equality Party, the Allendista Socialism Movement, the Libertarian Left, Ukamau Chile and the Movement of Settlers in Struggle (MPL), rejects the declaration of the Chilean Foreign Ministry, of the Government of Sebastián Piñera that criticizes the voting in Nicaragua. It also indicates that Chile joined the United States Government in an interference that goes against the will of the peoples.
? We support what is expressed by @camila_vallejo Regarding the statement made, it was not discussed or resolved by the collective leadership of the PC. We condemn any violation of human rights in Nicaragua, Chile and anywhere in the world‼ ️
– JJCC Chile (@jjcc_chile) November 12, 2021
“The Nicaraguan people went to the polls en masse to democratically elect their authorities and they have done so in peace, in accordance with their institutions and current laws. The elections were held with the presence of international observers and companions (…) The majority of the Nicaraguan people have expressed themselves at the polls, and have given legitimacy to the government of President Daniel Ortega, ”says the questioned statement.
Statement “does not represent me”
The conventional Bárbara Sepúlveda told the newspaper The counter that “the statement on Nicaragua was not the product of the discussion of the PC collective and it does not represent me either. Feminists know of the political persecution of Ortega against our colleagues. What happened in Nicaragua is unacceptable and indefensible ”.
Along the same lines, Deputy Karol Cariola, indicated on Twitter that in the face of the controversial statement about Nicaragua, “I did not know it and personally do not adhere to it. I am convinced that @gabrielboric, as future president, has in his hands the responsibility of managing the international relations of the country and we will support him in doing so ”.
Faced with the controversy over the Nicaraguan declaration, I did not know it and personally do not adhere to it. I have the conviction that @gabrielboric As future president, you have in your hands the responsibility of managing the country’s international relations and we will support you in it. #Follow
– Karol Cariola Oliva (@KarolCariola) November 12, 2021
For her part, the former minister and current candidate for senator, Claudia Pascual, said on Radio Universidad de Chile that “what is happening in some countries and in particular in Nicaragua is worrying. I believe that you have to look much more carefully at what is happening there, I think it is extremely legitimate to have flags of self-determination …, but I also believe that this should be done with respect to the possibility of demonstrating whenever there is a sector or a segment of the population that does not agree with a certain policy ”.
Former PC presidential candidate Daniel Jadue also distanced himself from the controversial statement. “I will never agree with regimes that persecute and imprison their opponents. The problems of democracy are solved with more democracy, never with less ”.
The presidential candidate of Republican Action, José Antonio Kast, criticized in a video the link between Approve Dignidad and Gabriel Boric with the Communist Party, whom he accused of being “accomplices” of the Ortega regime.
The Ortega dictatorship in Nicaragua does not admit ambiguity. Is Gabriel Boric going to accept the Communist Party in his campaign? The accomplices of human rights violations in Nicaragua? pic.twitter.com/H9ZWlYoipV
– José Antonio Kast Rist ?? (@joseantoniokast) November 12, 2021
Boric replied in the same social network: “Mr. Kast, I am always on the side of democracy and human rights. It’s a shame that not everyone can say the same ”, posting a video of the young Kant praising the Augusto Pinochet regime.
Mr Kast, I am always on the side of democracy and human rights. It’s a shame that not everyone can say the same. https://t.co/id3GrCVusU pic.twitter.com/kgxU5kmaHV
– Gabriel Boric Font (@gabrielboric) November 12, 2021
Some members in favor
Within the PC there are also other leaders who are in favor of the content of the declaration, like the conventional Hugo Gutiérrez. “From what I have read and I have internalized what happened in Nicaragua, there was almost 66% of the electoral roll and that is the information of people who voted, that is, it is higher than what they vote in Chile, and that people turned out to vote normally. There the vote is voluntary and there is no questioning on the part of the veedores (electoral companions) ”, he told The counter.
According to Gutiérrez, “what the PC and other social movements are saying is that they repudiate the declaration of the Piñera government, which ignores the election that took place in Nicaragua. That is the opinion of the PC and other social movements ”.
Regarding what was expressed by the presidential candidate, Gutiérrez commented that it is about “his opinion, we as PC have another”. “I don’t see it as tension, Boric has his opinion, the PC has his opinion, that shows that we are different parties. We belong to a different movement, which we have united and allied precisely to find common ground and that materializes in a government program, “he added.
