The right-wing opposition coalition Chile Vamos and the Democrats party appealed this Monday before the Constitutional Court seven of the 13 pardons that President Gabriel Boric granted at the end of December, the majority to young people detained during the massive protests of 2019.
(Also: Controversial pardon for prisoners causes departure of the Minister of Justice in Chile)
In statements to the media after leaving the court, the opposition representatives assured that pardons “do not respect the law or the “equality of other people sentenced” for similar acts.
This is an opportunity for the Government to amend the error
“We call on the Executive to withdraw the pardons, this is an opportunity for the Government to amend the error,” said the senator from the Evópoli party, Luciano Cruz-Coke, who opined that the pardon for the prisoners of the “social outbreak” was a failure politician who “Now the jurisdictional bodies must decide.”
“The appeal to the courts does not pursue a political dispute with the Government, but rather wants to enforce the law. Countries that do not respect their own rules nor do the constitutional norms end very badly,” said the president of the Democrats, Ximena Rincón.
(Also: Chilean Congress approves reform that allows the drafting of a new Constitution)
For his part, the president of the conservative Independent Democratic Union (UDI), Javier Macaya, said that the pardons “are a signal to his staunchest supporters, the extreme left” that he is seeking more similar pardons.
“In the past, we have not had objections to insults for humanitarian or health matters, but when they are granted solely for political arguments, they obviously enter into a contradiction,” said the UDI president.
The Chilean government granted on December 30, at the gates of the New Year,
12 pardons for prisoners of the “social outbreak” and another one for Jorge Matelunaa former member of the radical armed group Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (FPMR), which fought the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).
Gabriel Boric’s approval plummets
According to a survey published on Sunday by Cadem, a public opinion research company in Chile, approximately 72% rejected Boric’s decision to release and pardon the protesters.
In addition, 78% indicated they have a negative outlook on consumption, marking the highest level in nine years. While only 25% of the 701 respondents declared that they supported the 36-year-old president.
(Also read: Peru decrees a state of emergency in Lima and gets ready for new mobilizations)
Boric’s decision generated an unparalleled political crisis, which cost the Minister of Justice and Boric’s main adviser their joband caused various political formations to get up from the negotiating table in Congress for a security pact, one of the main projects of the Executive.
The presidential pardons come at a time when the polls reflect high concern about insecurity in the country; Although the number of crimes has decreased in recent years, the degree of violence and the media coverage of robberies and robberies have increased.
Santiago Andres Venera Salazar
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
#Chilean #opposition #asks #revoke #President #Borics #controversial #pardons