“We will work putting Chile and its people as the north and reference of our actions, putting the well-being of the country above any point of view, any bias, whether religious, political or ideological: for me Chile and its people come first.” “I also call on the opposition to collaborate with the development of the country, to abandon calls to atrophy the Government, to abandon calls to bog down the public policies that citizens long for and urgently require.”
“The century”. Valparaiso. 4/15/2024. Full text of the speech by Deputy Karol Cariola, of the Communist Party (PC), upon assuming the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies:
I want to thank and greet all my colleagues who have honored their pledge and today have given their favorable vote so that a member of the Communist Party of Chile, for the first time in the history of our country, can preside over the Chamber of Deputies.
I also want to thank my caucus for the trust they place in me, to give me this important responsibility of representing them on the Board of this corporation, to the maximum responsibility that is its presidency. Facing the country, and in front of each of my colleagues present, I want to reaffirm our commitment to the institutions and our respect and unrestricted defense of democracy. I am a member of a party that has given proof of this, with its members, our colleagues, even willing to give their lives for it.
I believe that today an atavistic veto has fallen, not only anti-communist, but also anti-democratic. Because popular sovereignty implies that, if the people are capable of voting and electing communists for the positions of popular representation in which we have been elected, with a bench of 12 deputies and 2 senators, with the representation of several communes and among them the capital of our country, or with the first national majority in votes of this Chamber of Deputies. There does not have to be other types of vetoes, elitist and undemocratic. That only remember the worst moments in our history, when through cursed laws an attempt has been made to silence our ideas.
Popular sovereignty and democracy also imply respecting the choices that the people of Chile have made. And from our deep value for democracy we hope that the dispute over ideas does not turn into disqualifications and lies that only help to further discredit the exercise of politics and the institutions of our country.
From the Chamber Board we will work and demonstrate that the accusations and fears they have tried to instill are not only unjust, but also unfounded. We will work as a Mesa putting Chile and its people as the north and reference of our actions, putting the well-being of the country above any point of view, any bias, whether religious, political or ideological: for me Chile and its people come first.
Those who know me know that this has been my goal and that is how I have worked since the first day I had to set foot in this Chamber as an elected representative. The citizens’ priorities are also ours, so without a doubt, we will continue to accompany the Government to quickly carry out the committed reforms that seek to improve the lives of current and future pensioners, such as the pension reform, the pact tax, and health reform. In the same way, we will take charge of continuing to work on a security agenda, because we are convinced that Chileans have the right to live a life free of crime. Those who have unfairly accused us of wanting to hinder this agenda do so with a very ill-intentioned political interest. And I call on you to make fighting crime a task for everyone present here, for all the political forces of our country, that we put our energy into it, rather than generating lies and prejudices through the press. . Chileans expect much more from their representatives and we must live up to it.
From here I also call on the opposition to collaborate with the development of the country, to abandon calls to atrophy the Government, to abandon calls to bog down the public policies that citizens long for and urgently require. We will be a flat table, which represents, as you have already noted, the diversity of this Parliament, and which will be open to listening, dialogue and working with all our strength, collaborating with the legitimately elected Government of President Gabriel Boric and also willing to listen and incorporate all the ideas and proposals that are available to contribute to the advancement of the country, the well-being of our country and the well-being of its people from Arica to Punta Arenas and from the sea to the mountain range.
Chile does not stop and neither do we, we continue forward and this table will be available for those advances that are so necessary.
I thank again those who have given me this enormous responsibility today, I thank my family, my team for accompanying me, my party for supporting me, our coalition and especially the committee heads who risked the fulfillment of this agreement and of course to Chile, because I am a daughter of this country and thanks to it I can be here today fulfilling the important task of being one of the five women in the entire history of Chile, to assume this important role as president of the chamber of deputies. and female deputies.
Thank you very much, long live Chile and its people.
