After the suspense that caused the rejection of the previous question invoked by his defense, the Chamber of the Chamber of Deputies finally dismissed the constitutional accusation against the Minister of Social Development, Giorgio Jackson, with 68 votes in favor, 76 against and 6 abstentions. A result that the Government achieved thanks to a strong deployment of several of its ministers, who even accompanied Jackson during the day, and which managed to get some parliamentarians out of an opposition that was not sufficiently aligned to achieve its purpose that the libel advance to the Senate, a place where the outlook seemed adverse for the Secretary of State, due to the bad relations he left there, during his tenure as head of the General Secretariat of the Presidency (Segpres).
During the long day of this Thursday, key votes and those that favored the pro-government claims were those of the independent deputies Felipe Camaño and René Alinco, who voted against; as well as the abstentions of the opposition parliamentarians Ximena Ossandón (RN), Joaquín Lavín León (UDI) and Eduardo Durán (RN). Once the vote was over, Minister Jackson celebrated the culmination of a process that – in his opinion – “could have been avoided”, adding that the accusation voted on Thursday “had no foundation”.
In this sense, the head of the Ministry of Social Development specified that “many times it was about political differences that are legitimate, I think that was what weighed up and what tipped the balance both of the pro-government parliamentarians, whom of course I thank you for your support, as well as those who are not from the ruling party, even those who are from the opposition and took the step and crossed a border that is difficult to cross.
But the outlook was, initially, adverse for the Government. And it is that only one vote was missing for the ruling party to win the previous question, invoked by the defense of Minister Jackson, whose vote in favor allowed the constitutional accusation against the government authority to be declared inadmissible. But after the House ruled against said mechanism, and the libel fund was voted on, it was the accusers who faced the complex challenge of obtaining a sufficient majority to approve the initiative presented by the Republican Party caucus and, in this way, to disqualify the head of the Ministry of Social Development from his functions, until the pronouncement of the Senate.
In this regard, the key vote, which was able to determine the approval of the previous question invoked by Jackson’s defense, came from the independent deputy Mónica Arce, a former member of the Humanist Party, but who is not part of any officialist group or has any ties to Humanist Action, as stated by its president, Tomás Hirsch. But if the vote of the parliamentarian – elected on the same list and dragged by Pamela Jiles – had been favorable, the constitutional accusation would have been dropped at that moment, considering the support of the opposition parliamentarian and member of the accusatory libel review commission, Joaquín Lavín León (UDI), and from other sectors, such as the Christian Democracy bench.
In her defense, Deputy Arce, although she avoided referring to the reasons behind her vote, said that she felt “ashamed” for how this process has been carried out, because – in her opinion – it responds to the “eternal cock between the two political forces as always, in a boring and obsolete fight, but one that is still ongoing (…). And what I have experienced in recent weeks is bullying. Some are going to take great advantage of the options that may be open to them, regarding your vote. We are wasting time in a fight that only matters to us and that only benefits a few,” added the parliamentarian
Finally, and although the Lower House dismissed the accusatory libel against one of the ministers closest to President Gabriel Boric, voices continue to emerge in favor of Jackson’s departure from the cabinet, amid strong pressure and speculation regarding an eventual adjustment ministerial. In this regard, for the deputy and head of the Christian Democracy bench, Eric Aedo, once this accusation is rejected, it would be positive for the Government and for Minister Jackson himself if he distances himself from the front line of the Executive, where he could fulfill a different role, for example, as a consultant on the second floor of La Moneda.
“I believe that the Government and the minister himself have to carry out a process of reflection, as to why, eleven months after his administration began, he has become the magnet for all the animosity of Parliament. And I honestly say that no I want what happened to former minister Chadwick to happen to Minister Jackson, who was accused of constitutional law, but returned shortly after with another accusation, until they removed him that way. I believe that the path that Minister Jackson will follow , it is going to be that another right-wing party, or another, in a few more months, is going to present an accusation against him again, and I don’t know if the Government is going to have the energy to stop it,” warned Aedo.
Accusation against ex-minister Ríos: a “different” case
But the truth is that the Government is facing a complex situation, because although it was able to prevent the fall of one of the distinguished faces of its cabinet, it must quickly deploy to prevent the constitutional accusation against the former Minister of Justice, Marcela Ríos, from get enough sponsorship to be approved in the Chamber, whose vote will take place next Wednesday, January 25, a few days after the start of the legislative recess. And it is that from the Corporation they warn that both libels –against Jackson and Ríos– correspond to different cases. A reflection of that is that the opposition could in said task add votes that this Thursday supported the ruling party, as well as independents and the Christian Democratic bench, among other sectors.
Faced with the next challenge for the Executive, the person in charge of leading the efforts to prevent the libel against Ríos from advancing to the Senate, will be the Segpres minister, Ana Lya Uriarte, also a key figure in the negotiations that allowed Jackson to be saved from his accusation . Regarding the strategy that La Moneda will apply, the Secretary of State pointed out that “next week unfortunately we will have to be here again accompanying former minister Marcela Ríos, in a constitutional accusation that is also legally inadmissible (…). We will make exactly the same effort that you have seen today, because Marcela Ríos should not be accused, much less she should be the object of a successful constitutional accusation and, with this, punish conduct that does not constitute a violation of legal regulations.”
In defense of the former head of Justice, her partner in the political store (Social Convergence), the deputy Gael Yeomans, stated that “what is read is that it is rather trying to question the exercise of a presidential power [los indultos]. (…) I would not like there to be cruelty against the former minister, I think it is not fair, she has already resigned from her position, and I think that with respect to the facts that are in question, it is sufficient demonstration of the height that she has had for the moment “. In addition, and regarding the possibility raised by National Renewal parliamentarians –promoters of the accusation against Ríos–, regarding that said libel would serve to resolve doubts about possible irregularities in the pardons, Yeomans added that “one does not present constitutional accusations to gather information (…). This accusation should not be approved if they do not have the support or the necessary information to be able to present it.”
On how the ruling party is preparing for the constitutional accusation that will be voted on next Wednesday in the Chamber of Chambers, the deputy and president of Acción Humanista, Tomás Hirsch, pointed out that they are preparing in the same way that they did for the libel voted this Thursday: “With solid arguments, with a good job by our deputies in the commissions that are studying the accusation.” However, parliamentarians point out that the case of the accusation against Ríos is obviously different from that of Jackson, as it has more elements legal foundations, and because – they assure – in parallel National Renovation presented an investigative commission on the issue of pardons, so the right is not going to stop in its objective of reaching the President of the Republic.
The question now revolves around whether the Republican Party will support this initiative, since two RN deputies (Ossandón and Durán) and one from the UDI (Lavín Jr.), abstained from the accusation against Jackson, favoring the pro-government intentions , and reflecting the complexities that the opposition has faced to vote in an aligned manner. In this way, and as they warn in the Chamber of Deputies and Deputies, Chile Vamos is prey to its own lack of coordination and must be deployed to achieve a successful negotiation with the Republican bench, which announced this Thursday that it has not yet made a decision regarding the libel against Ríos, who, if his accusation is approved, would be disqualified from holding public office for a period of five years.
