Javiera Reyes: New constitutional text “will be catastrophic for the municipalities”

This was warned by the mayor of Lo Espejo, who emphasized that “not only will it affect the poorest municipalities, but it will disadvantage municipalities in general.” She indicated that situations such as eliminating contributions “would have the consequence that municipalities would dedicate themselves to paying basic bills and that social aid, such as workshops of different types from the municipality, would have to cease to exist.” In interview with El Siglo.cl, highlighted the support provided by the Government so that initiatives such as the “Buen Vivir” program can be implemented and give visibility to this commune that has historically been excluded from the benefits of the economic model. He commented that “the The first demolition of narco-mausoleums was in our commune with the purpose of recovering public spaces” and that “the experience has been positive.” The community leader stressed that “we have risked bringing progress, the historic investment in education, the mass arrival of technology to our schools, the improvement of health care and the optimization of such basic but significant, such as the withdrawal of medications.” The mayor did not rule out running for re-election: “I am happy to assume the commitment,” she stated.

Ursula Fuentes Rivera. Journalist. “The century”. Santiago. 11/13/2023. President Gabriel Boric was recently in Lo Espejo to deliver the results of the participatory dialogues of the national care system. What conclusions came from this meeting between the president and the people of this commune?

President Boric came to give the go-ahead for the start of work on the first Community Inclusion Center in our commune, whose construction will begin in the second half of November on Júpiter Street, in the Lo Sierra sector. From Lo Espejo we deeply appreciate his visit, as well as all the efforts carried out by him and his team, because they have allowed a community like ours, historically excluded from the benefits of this model, to have a higher level of support and visibility before the citizenship.

Regarding the results of the participatory dialogues of the national care system, these have made it possible to validate the need to have guarantees regarding the rights of those who care and those who receive care, finally understanding that caring is a job, carried out mainly by women who many Sometimes they stop working and by taking care of someone else they end up becoming poorer along with their family. That is part of the harshest reality that we often have to face and our municipality, in coordination with the central government, has sought to generate concrete and real support networks for those who care, such as the implementation of the health program “I I care to care” and the recently launched “Respiro Program”, which consists of caregivers from the municipality itself going to the homes of their neighbor caregivers to replace them in their care work, so that they can have free time to perform other activities or to rest.

We also have different sports and community promotions for people with disabilities, we have strengthened psychological support networks and complementary therapies for people who receive care, we will soon begin the construction of an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) room and we are working with some of the health careers at the University of Santiago, to promote free care for our neighbors.

In that sense, we want Lo Espejo to be a model commune in relation to care and that these are not only relegated to the interior of the houses, but that we can in one way or another collectivize them and take care of each other.

According to some residents of Lo Espejo, it is the first time that a President of the Republic has visited the commune so much. For them, this is largely due to the fact that you and your management as mayor have given visibility to Lo Espejo.

With a lot of effort and sacrifice we have been able to position the “Buen Vivir” program in the commune, which we want to consolidate, since it implies having territorial justice, which is a real need for our neighbors. Good living requires the understanding that this model that prevails in the country does not simplify our lives and that today we must take measures so that the quality of life can improve and that we not only survive and think about how make ends meet, but also that we can have life projects, with more free time for the family and personal or collective interests, to be able to have dreams and that these may be possible to materialize. In this I believe that President Boric has managed to understand the reality of our commune, because in Lo Espejo, in one way or another, with a lot of debate and with a lot of exercise of democracy, we are clear about where we want to move forward.

This is reflected with the demand that we have made for the Metro to reach our commune and with other work carried out in conjunction with the Government, such as the recovery of public education, where Los Espejo has achieved a historic investment in the infrastructure of our establishments. and historical management to be able to incorporate top quality technological equipment into our schools, acquiring more than 350 new computers, another 200 computers obtained from different efforts and donations that have come to us, projectors for all rooms and interactive whiteboards. This year we also gave school supplies and backpacks to one hundred percent of the students in our municipal schools.

These initiatives seem fundamental to us, as is our Popular Communal Pre-University “Cecilia Binimelis”, since they allow us to generate the empowerment of the neighbors, in which it is possible to have a better quality of life and that not only requires the effort of them, but it is important that we continue to join forces that allow the commune of Lo Espejo to be an example commune in how the progress and development of public infrastructure is here to stay and ensure that this little piece of land in the Metropolitan Region can continue making the leap in terms of improving their quality of life.

What is your evaluation of the measure promoted by the Government to demolish the so-called “narco mausoleums and memorials” installed in public spaces, which has been carried out in different communes of the country for some months? Has this initiative had tangible effects on the commune of Lo Espejo?

The first demolition of narco-mausoleums was in our commune and that was not a coincidence or a coincidence, but rather it was a conviction that we developed with the Government, with the purpose of truly recovering public spaces. The experience has been positive and it is something that we must continue working on from the point of view of public safety, because it is also important to say that the first place that was intervened went from being a castle that advocated violence, to a place where you pass at 9 at night and it is full of girls and boys playing. That is the difference we have today. This measure has also been important to tell the neighbors that they have effort and work, not with words, but with actions, that they have the priority and it is to them that we want to give our public spaces.

This is a different way of doing things, because it is often said that leftist projects struggle with the issue of security and I believe that in some way we are demystifying this, showing that security has an essential community component and which today requires us to listen closely to the needs of our population and those sectors abandoned for years, because abandonment also occurs when public spaces are taken over and crimes are committed in the sight and patience of everyone and no one does anything.

Regarding the “Streets without violence” plan, have there been changes in the security of the commune after its application?

I think so. It is important to note that the “Street without violence” plan aims to reduce the number of homicides perpetrated by unknown perpetrators in different places. Here in Lo Espejo the lines of action that were worked on have to do with people who had arrest warrants in force, that is, they had to serve sentences and were not doing so. In several months of work, they managed to bring about 100 people to serve their sentences, focusing on certain places in our commune. If you talk to the neighbors who live in those places, they acknowledge that they are calmer and that also had to do with this coordinated work. Now, obviously homicides are not going to end overnight, because this is a process that must be combined with other preventive aspects that are always the most difficult, but which are in any case the most necessary.

What have been the emblematic advances in the commune of Lo Espejo during your time as mayor?

We have risked bringing progress to the commune, for the historic investment in education, the mass arrival of technology to our schools, the improvement of health care and the optimization of processes as basic but significant as the withdrawal of medications.

We are starting with our Community Pharmacy “Beatriz Sepúlveda”, we hope to have news with the optician in the remaining two months of this year, we have our Cecilia Binimelis Popular Communal Pre-University and we are improving our streets and illuminating a large part of our avenues with lighting led. In fact, we managed to manage the resources for the total replacement of public lighting in Lo Espejo and with this we will be the first commune in the southern zone to have one hundred percent lighting led on the streets. For the Metro we are waiting for President Boric to tell us when the results of the feasibility study are available. But we have all the energy put into the streets, into improving the quality of life. And all this is done hand in hand with citizen participation. In that sense, yesterday the elections of the Council of Civil Society Organizations (Cosoc) were held, where the number of organizations that participated doubled compared to the previous election.

So I believe that today we are talking about an empowerment of a commune that faithfully represents the popular sectors and that has made an effort from every point of life to move forward and this also requires a lot of will.

What are the priorities to promote and develop in the remainder of your building period?

We want to achieve the recovery of public spaces, which to some extent is the mixture of several of the projects mentioned above. It seems important to us that we can achieve it in a good way and that we can continue developing different projects. There is one that interests us a lot and that is long-term; This is the construction of a sports complex on Jupiter Street and I would like us to be able to finish that process. We want to recover some parks in the commune that are of large magnitude, build our municipal veterinary and in general all the policies associated with the community management of health, education and public spaces, and that we could have the opportunity to consolidate them because Without a doubt, two years and three months, which is approximately how long she served as mayor, is not enough to be able to overcome decades of abandonment of a space that has so much to give to this society.

The proposal for the constitutional text delivered by the Constitutional Council to President Gabriel Boric exempts the payment of contributions. According to the ruling party, this measure would seriously affect municipal income, especially in the poorest communes. Given this situation, how do you see what is coming for the collection of resources for the municipalities?

We must be very clear with this, if this constitutional text is approved, it will not only affect the poorest municipalities, but it will disadvantage municipalities in general.

This would have the consequence that the municipalities would dedicate themselves to paying the basic bills and that the social aid, including the different types of workshops that are carried out by the municipality, such as the workshops for the elderly and all those services such as the income pension for the prostrate, they have to cease to exist, because the communes that have a high level of dependence on the municipal common fund, we are not going to be able to carry out these types of initiatives. I sincerely believe that the municipalities would become payers of basic expenses and would be left without the concrete possibility of contributing to the communities, which will be catastrophic for the municipalities.

What other measures at the legislative level need to be promoted to improve the distribution of resources to the country’s communes, especially those that have a higher poverty rate?

Tax reform remains totally and absolutely necessary. Chile continues to have a tax system that does not have a relevant level of progressivity. It does not allow the distribution of the country, in terms of resources, to change significantly after taxes have been collected. It is important that they continue working on it and be able to compare ourselves with those countries that pay more taxes or those sectors of those countries that have more resources and that pay more taxes, and that this can sustain all the social policies that continue to be extremely necessary for our society.

Would you like to run for re-election as mayor of Lo Espejo in the next municipal elections?

Yes, I am committed to this commune, it is what moves me, I have my heart and my life made in Lo Espejo. Furthermore, it is a commune that has so much to deliver and that requires attention and investment.

I believe that “Buen Vivir” is a long-term project where we have to continue joining forces and giving all the space to develop it and to continue incorporating an important element, which is territorial justice.

I am happy to assume the commitment, responsibility and desire to reconsider my re-election. But that is a decision that our people must make. mirror. I have all the peace of mind of a job well done and I am happy to contribute to this community.