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Don Ángel Valencia was extremely upset when the minister and government spokesperson, Camila Vallejo, in a public event, stated that in Chile there are “indications” of the existence of a network of collar and tie corruption, immediately calling her to report this. network in writing in the corresponding instances. The aforementioned moderated her expressions to prevent the controversy from escalating to higher levels.
Well, justifying the title of this opinion column, we inform the distinguished national prosecutor that, in different media and before the Ministry of Defense itself, we have formally denounced the network that tolerates corruption and influence peddling in the field. of the tax properties that the different branches of the Armed Forces sell in the real estate market, a matter that, among others, was published in 2021 in the Financial Diaryver link
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While a bill that seeks to end the sale and purchase of cloth from the Armed Forces and the police is being discussed, it is estimated that there are at least 126 hectares in Santiago that are underutilized and that could be transferred to the Ministry of Housing – free of charge – for build up to 18 thousand houses. www.df.cl |
Regarding this grotesque situation that has not been regularized to this day, we smiled a lot when we learned of Sergio Muñoz’s request to Luis Hermosilla, in order for him to intervene before La Moneda because the PDI wanted to buy (sic) the luxury mansion from the FACH which he occupied in the commune of Las Condes. The now imprisoned Muñoz was unaware that this property did not belong to the FACH, an institution that received it from the Ministry of National Assets as an assignment for its own institutional requirements.
What strictly corresponded, if the fluent informant, former director of the PDI, wanted to continue enjoying the comforts of that magnificent house, was to ask the “president’s lawyer” Luis Hermosilla to, with his good offices, process the use and enjoyment of the same by the PDI. In any case, we celebrate that the new director of this institution, Eduardo Cerna, has terminated the respective million-dollar rental contract, thereby giving a sign of rationality and decency in the exercise of his function.
We can continue giving countless other examples of corruption, but on this occasion we will only describe an old improper practice in the area of illegal authorization and subsequent construction of a thermoelectric plant located in a saturated area in the 5th region of Valparaíso.
On 03/15/2011 we published in Cyprus the column “Campiche and the US Embassy”, describing in great detail the episode of the interference of a former ambassador of that country in our public policy matters already resolved by opinion of the Comptroller General of the Republic and final ruling of the Court Supreme Court. There we were talking about the North American company AES Gener favored with untimely administrative decisions by the Bachelet government, with which, by consenting to the foreign request, our Rule of Law was violated.
Well, after a few months the OECD responded to us in English, making it clear that this international organization lacks the strength and powers to ensure that the countries attached to it comply with the provisions it imposes on multinational companies. In any case, the authority who signed the response told us that “However, I have asked my staff to transmit your communication to the government of Chile for its information and adoption of measures if it is considered appropriate”.
In view of the above and as the OECD relates directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country, on November 3, 2011, in accordance with Law No. 20,285, on Transparency, we asked Alfredo Moreno, then Chancellor of the Republic , to inform us in writing what has been the result of the investigation that has been carried out within the government to prevent from now on the interference of foreign countries in our State policies. To the previous one, we expressed that the government of Sebastián Piñera should urgently adopt the necessary measures to avoid the repetition of this type of very negative practices that erode the democratic system and the exercise of the free market in the economy.
In order for the aforementioned minister to have the supporting documentation at hand, we attach to our presentation a copy of the text of the complaint made to the Secretary General of the OECD, the Mexican Ángel Gurría, an accusation that the Comptroller General of the OECD was aware of. República, Ramiro Mendoza and the president of the Supreme Court, Milton Juica. Via letter No. 4892 of November 25, 2011, the director of Multilateral Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to us in the following terms: “…….we do not have any kind of information on the matter consulted and, therefore, it is impossible to send you any type of background or information”.
Given this lying response, which sought impunity, it is evident that the accommodating system prevailing in Chile does not wish, for any reason, to recognize the incorrect behavior of its political agents and that is why Piñera’s Foreign Ministry refused to recognize the existence of that extremely corrupt action, protected by the network that Camila Vallejo alluded to. If that government never agreed to tell the truth in the aforementioned episode, the secret must have been explained by the well-known “reasons of state.”
Based on what has been said, we propose to the prosecutor Valencia that he receive us in his office so that, from the first source, and in a future friendly conversation, he can learn how the most influential actors in the markets operate, often in collusion with public officials, reminding him that we have several criminal complaints for the crimes of administrative prevarication, filed in some guarantee courts, which do not progress because prosecutors lack time to investigate them or for other more compromising reasons. He, as a learned and informed man, should have read Prince by Nicolás Machiavelli, and therefore you will know how human beings operate in this world.
Patrick Herman