Constitutional Accusation Against Chilean President Goes Ahead

A constitutional accusation filed by opposition parties against President Sebastian Piñera was approved today by a committee of deputies, as the first step in that process.

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The Committee, formed by five legislators of the Socialist, Communist and Christian Democratic parties (opposition), as well as the National Renewal and Independent Democratic Union parties of the ruling coalition, supported by three votes in favor and two against the process of submitting the accusation for analysis.

Now it is up to the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies to analyze the accusation against the president tomorrow based on this report, and cast its vote which if approved would see the accusation go to the Senate, which would have the last word.

The text of the accusation calls for the removal of the president for his responsibility in the repeated violations of human rights during the state of exception and subsequently, those committed by police officers against the population that has been demonstrating on the streets since October 18.

From the city of Valparaiso, headquarters of the National Congress, Communist deputy Boris Barrera said that the committee's ruling is a positive signal for the country and the international community regarding what is happening in Chile. He pointed out that Piñera's defense tries to distance him from human rights violations which everyone recognizes, even the president himself, who said yesterday that those who commit these acts or allow them to be perpetrated must be condemned.

According to Barrera, the accusation is gaining ground, since it has been proven that the president has had many possibilities to stop the perpetration of these crimes and has not done so, as evidenced by more recent events that show the continuity of violations against protesters.