Controversy in Chile over statements by Gabriel Boric’s partner about the referendum that rejected the new Constitution

Irina Karamanos, former socio-cultural coordinator of La Moneda Palace and partner of the Chilean President, Gabriel Boricawarded, as part of the 2023 International Feminist Meeting in Madrid, Spain, the triumph of Rejection in the plebiscite for the publication of the new Constitutionheld on Sunday, September 4, 2022, to a “campaign of terror”.

In this context, the leader of the Feminist Front for Social Convergence (CS), warned against the strategies of the “ultra-right” in the media, taking as an example the exit plebiscite. In this way she explained that ”the risk of the ultra-right and its anti-democratic nature is that it leads us precisely to activate ourselves as feminists, but not only as a reaction, theirs, but as an organization and an ‘agreement’ of opening”.

“Campaigns of fear, hatred, promotion of discrimination against certain segments of the population; the non-proposed, by the way, to the final boundary so that they can no longer continue to advance in rights, but also the threat that they will take away what you have, which is, for example, what generated the success of the Rejection in the plebiscite”said Karamanos. adding that “a campaign of terror where it is said that what little you have is going to be taken from you.”

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However, the Minister Secretary General of the Government, Camila Vallejoresponded to President Boric’s couple criticism by pointing out that ”For our government, all opinions are legitimate, they are respectable, because it is part of the democratic debate. Now the important thing is to think about all things in the present and the future of our country.”

In the same vein, Vallejo stressed that “our government is working urgently today, to comply with its government program, to move forward in this direction and this is therefore our main effort and our priorities”.

“But today the important thing is to think about the present and the future of our country, we have another constituent process going on and, therefore, that is where our main effort lies.regardless of the different opinions that will emerge from the public and from different political sectors, which are absolutely legitimate,” he added.

Finally, the government spokesperson stressed that “it is not a question of sharing or not. FORHere there is freedom of expression, there is freedom of opinionand everyone has that as a guaranteed right and we respect that”.

Statements by President Boric

On the other hand, the Chilean president recalled that Irina Karamanos does not belong to the government. Thus, the Head of State maintained that “Irina has the right to have the opinion that she deems appropriate and It is not for the government to comment on the opinions of a person who has his own background, the independence to give his opinion”.

“Irina Karamanos is my companion, she is not a civil servant and She has the right to have the opinions that seem best to her.”condemned the president.

On the other hand, the Chilean president denied the statements of certain opposition parliamentarians, who wondered about the origin of the money for the trip to Spain. “And to remove any doubt, because I saw that some right-wing parliamentarians who were a little worried, Irina’s trip does not involve any public resource of the State of Chile, not a”he pointed out.

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