Tension continues within the Socialist Party (PS) between two of its prominent figures, Senator Isabel Allende and Senator Fidel Espinoza, due to a dispute for a seat in the Senate that involves none other than the family of Salvador Allende.
Espinoza, one of the harshest critics within the ruling party of the Government of President Gabriel Boric, pointed to the eventual candidacy in 2025 of the Minister of Defense, Maya Fernández Allende, who will seek the seat in the Senate for Valparaíso, currently occupied by the senator Isabel Allende.
The legislator is the aunt of the Secretary of State and will not be able to re-nominate for next year. For this reason, Senator Espinoza told The Mercurio of Valparaíso that although the head of Defense has the right to apply, “the senate cannot be a hereditary monarchy“.
Senator Allende responded publicly, denouncing Espinoza’s words as a serious insult to her family and the legacy of President Salvador Allende.
This new conflict within the PS once again focuses attention on the leadership of the party president, Senator Paulina Vodanovic, who has supported Senator Fidel Espinoza on previous occasions. However, the socialist helmsman today joins the statement issued by the board of directors that she heads, which calls for attention to the representative of the Los Lagos Region. Of course, Vodanovic called for “our differences to be processed internally.”
PS: “Our party admits all kinds of opinions and political discussions, but not personal attacks”
Through a statement, the official community began by highlighting the historical importance of the Allende family in the fight for democracy and human rights in Chile, remembering the legacy of comrade Salvador Allende Gossens, president elected in 1970 and overthrown by the coup. State in 1973.
The statement also highlighted the political career of Senator Isabel Allende, as well as the commitment and legislative work of Maya Fernández Allende, current Minister of Defense.
“Senator Isabel Allende was an active defender of democracy and human rights, accompanying her mother, our beloved Tencha Bussi, in international solidarity. In addition, she has held different positions within our Party, including being our first President. She was also our first President of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, and her legislative work has been intense and fruitful,” the statement states.
At the same time, he adds, “our colleague Maya Fernández Allende has represented the values of our party as a militant, candidate for mayor and as deputy and president of the Lower House, and currently as Minister of Defense, with an important role in public security. of our country, work that we value.”
However, the party’s board of directors expressed their disagreement with Senator Espinoza’s comments, underlining the importance of mutual respect and fraternity among socialist militants. “The board of the Socialist Party of Chile does not share the statements of Senator Espinoza; We reiterate that it is the duty of our militants, all of them, to respect each other and treat each other with fraternity. Our party admits all kinds of opinions and political discussions, but not personal attacks“says the statement.
“We especially call on our leaders to respect the rules, to respect us as militants and comrades, and to carry out political criticism and analysis in institutional spaces, taking care of fraternity, even more so in the harsh scenario that we face as a country where “Unity is more necessary than ever,” concludes the letter signed by the PS board of directors.
At the beginning of April, the socialist helmsman expressed her full support for the senator, after Espinoza announced in a letter that he was evaluating his resignation from the community, after accusing the lack of support for the publication of a report by Cyprus who addressed the million-dollar sale of his family’s land to two real estate agencies in the south. Furthermore, in January, Senator Vodanovic also came out in support of Fidel Espinoza, after the lawsuit that former Minister Giorgio Jackson filed against her.
