Chile opposition moves to impeach president over Pandora leaks
President Sebastian Pinera rejcts Pandora Papers report linking him to controversial 2010 sale of a mining company.
The move comes after Chile’s public prosecutor said this month it would open an investigation into possible bribery-related corruption charges, as well as tax violations related to the 2010 sale of the Dominga mine, which took place during Pinera’s first term in office.
The probe was prompted by the Pandora Papers leaks, a vast trove of reports on the hidden wealth of world leaders researched by the International Consortium of Journalists (ICIJ).
The Pandora Papers linked Pinera to the sale of Dominga, a sprawling copper and iron project, through a company owned by his children, to businessman Carlos Delano – a close friend of the president – for $152m.
It said a large part of the operation was carried out in the British Virgin Islands.
In addition, it said a controversial clause was included that made the last payment of the business conditional on “not establishing an area of environmental protection in the area of operations of the mining company, as demanded by environmental groups”. That decision falls within the remit of the Chilean president.
Pinera, one of the richest people in Chile, has denied any wrongdoing, saying the sale had previously been examined and dismissed by courts in 2017. “As president of Chile, I have never, never carried out any action nor management related to Dominga Mining,” he said last week.
But another opposition Chilean legislator, Jaime Naranjo, one of the drivers of the impeachment proceeding, said Pinera had “openly infringed the Constitution … seriously compromising the honour of the nation”.
Now Chile’s Chamber of Deputies, controlled by the opposition, will have to decide whether to approve or reject the indictment. A vote that will take place the first week of November, congressional sources explained to the AFP news agency.
If it receives the go-ahead, the case would pass to the Senate, which would have to act as a jury to seal Pinera’s fate.
The controversy came in advance of presidential and legislative elections in November.
Pinera’s second term, which began in March 2018, is set to end next March. He will be leaving office deeply unpopular after his right-wing coalition suffered a shock defeat in an election in May for a constituent assembly tasked with re-writing the country’s constitution.
The impeachment push came a day after Pinera declared a state of emergency in two southern regions of Chile where a conflict with Indigenous Mapuche people – who are demanding the restoration of their ancestral lands and more autonomy – is intensifying.
“We have decided to call a state of exception” in four provinces of the southern regions of Biobio and Araucania, as well as deploy troops to help control “the serious disturbance of public order” there, the president said in a speech on Tuesday.
Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman, reporting from Santiago, said armed Mapuche groups “have become more and more bold” and have been “carrying out acts of arson, sabotage, [and] taking over land”.
“The president has been under tremendous pressure for months now from conservatives within his own party, and other groups including truck drivers, to call a stage of siege in the Araucania, but he has been reluctant to do so until now,” Newman said.
President Sebastian Pinera rejcts Pandora Papers report linking him to controversial 2010 sale of a mining company.
Chile's President Sebastian Pinera's second term, which began in 2018,
is set to end next March [File: Ivan Alvarado/Reuters]
13 Oct 2021
Opposition lawmakers in Chile have launched impeachment proceedings against President Sebastian Pinera over the controversial sale of a mining company through a firm owned by his children, after new details emerged in the Pandora Papers leaks.
Pinera used “his office for personal business”, Congressman Tomas Hirsch said on Wednesday as he presented the accusation in the lower house of Congress, the first step in an impeachment process that could last for several weeks.
13 Oct 2021
Opposition lawmakers in Chile have launched impeachment proceedings against President Sebastian Pinera over the controversial sale of a mining company through a firm owned by his children, after new details emerged in the Pandora Papers leaks.
Pinera used “his office for personal business”, Congressman Tomas Hirsch said on Wednesday as he presented the accusation in the lower house of Congress, the first step in an impeachment process that could last for several weeks.
The move comes after Chile’s public prosecutor said this month it would open an investigation into possible bribery-related corruption charges, as well as tax violations related to the 2010 sale of the Dominga mine, which took place during Pinera’s first term in office.
The probe was prompted by the Pandora Papers leaks, a vast trove of reports on the hidden wealth of world leaders researched by the International Consortium of Journalists (ICIJ).
The Pandora Papers linked Pinera to the sale of Dominga, a sprawling copper and iron project, through a company owned by his children, to businessman Carlos Delano – a close friend of the president – for $152m.
It said a large part of the operation was carried out in the British Virgin Islands.
In addition, it said a controversial clause was included that made the last payment of the business conditional on “not establishing an area of environmental protection in the area of operations of the mining company, as demanded by environmental groups”. That decision falls within the remit of the Chilean president.
Pinera, one of the richest people in Chile, has denied any wrongdoing, saying the sale had previously been examined and dismissed by courts in 2017. “As president of Chile, I have never, never carried out any action nor management related to Dominga Mining,” he said last week.
But another opposition Chilean legislator, Jaime Naranjo, one of the drivers of the impeachment proceeding, said Pinera had “openly infringed the Constitution … seriously compromising the honour of the nation”.
Now Chile’s Chamber of Deputies, controlled by the opposition, will have to decide whether to approve or reject the indictment. A vote that will take place the first week of November, congressional sources explained to the AFP news agency.
If it receives the go-ahead, the case would pass to the Senate, which would have to act as a jury to seal Pinera’s fate.
The controversy came in advance of presidential and legislative elections in November.
Pinera’s second term, which began in March 2018, is set to end next March. He will be leaving office deeply unpopular after his right-wing coalition suffered a shock defeat in an election in May for a constituent assembly tasked with re-writing the country’s constitution.
The impeachment push came a day after Pinera declared a state of emergency in two southern regions of Chile where a conflict with Indigenous Mapuche people – who are demanding the restoration of their ancestral lands and more autonomy – is intensifying.
“We have decided to call a state of exception” in four provinces of the southern regions of Biobio and Araucania, as well as deploy troops to help control “the serious disturbance of public order” there, the president said in a speech on Tuesday.
Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman, reporting from Santiago, said armed Mapuche groups “have become more and more bold” and have been “carrying out acts of arson, sabotage, [and] taking over land”.
“The president has been under tremendous pressure for months now from conservatives within his own party, and other groups including truck drivers, to call a stage of siege in the Araucania, but he has been reluctant to do so until now,” Newman said.
Demonstrators face off riot police during a protest march by Mapuche Indian activists against Columbus Day in downtown Santiago, Chile October 10, 2021. © Ivan Alvarado, REUTERS
Text by:NEWS WIRES
Issued on: 13/10/2021 -
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Tuesday announced a state of emergency and deployed troops to two southern regions where clashes have broken out between Mapuche indigenous people and security forces.
The Mapuche are demanding the restoration of their ancestral lands and self-determination.
"We have decided to call a state of exception" in four provinces of the southern regions of Biobio and Araucania and the deployment of troops to help control "the serious disturbance of public order" there, Pinera said in a speech.
The billionaire right-wing president addressed the nation on a controversial national holiday that marks the "discovery" of the Americas by Christopher Columbus.
It is a day in history that is viewed as a disaster by many indigenous peoples throughout the Americas due to the colonisation that followed.
A protester is detained by police during a protest for Mapuche self-determination in Santiago on October 10, 2021 - Copyright AFP AHMAD AL-RUBAYE
Pinera, 71, said that the four provinces in question have seen "repeated acts of violence linked to drug-trafficking, terrorism and organised crime committed by armed groups," and that innocent civilians and police officers have been killed in the violence.
The state of exception is initially due to last two weeks in the provinces of Biobio and Arauco in the Biobio region, and in Malleco and Cautin in La Araucania.
The Mapuche are Chile's largest indigenous group numbering 1.7 million out of the country's 19 million population and live mostly in the south.
Their leaders are demanding that land currently owned by farms and logging companies be restored to them.
The lack of a solution to Mapuche demands has prompted radical groups to carry out attacks on trucks and private property over the last decade.
One person was killed and 17 injured on Sunday when clashes broke out in Santiago between security forces and protesters marching for Mapuche autonomy.
Possible escalation
Political analyst Lucía Dammert criticized Pinera's decision, saying that the deployment of troops could further intensify the Mapuche conflict.
"The government has been unable to generate an effective and fair policy to solve the problems that exist in Araucania," Dammert, a professor at the University of Santiago, told AFP. She added that sending troops to the region could lead to "an escalation of violence."
But Luciano Rivas, the ruling party's governor of Araucania, backed the deployment saying there is "a very deep security crisis" in the region.
"Today we are living in a very complex situation where the police are overwhelmed by groups with heavy caliber weapons," Rivas told CNN Chile.
(AFP)
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