Chamber approves presidential vetoes on mega-reform in tense session

Despite being a mere legislative procedure with a predictable outcome, there were still tense moments this Monday in the Chamber of Deputies session where the three vetoes presented by President José Antonio Kast were approved, related to the mega-project for reconstruction and economic reactivation. These presidential observations (according to the concept used by the Constitution) aimed to eliminate three articles that the opposition had managed to add to the text dispatched by Congress, thanks to votes from members of the ruling party itself. However, these norms were not to the liking of the Executive, as, in the opinion of Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz, they would generate harmful effects on the economy. For this reason, exercising his exceptional constitutional powers, the President made three observations to remove the articles related to: 1) the prohibition of charging interest on interest (anatocism); 2) the right to financial oblivion for debts; and 3) adjustments to ensure payment within 30 days for small and medium-sized enterprises. Although this time the right did not have the votes of the PDG, whose deputies decided to abstain, the government still had a majority in the chamber to impose its will. The norm on anatocism was eliminated with 75 votes in favor, 59 against, and 12 abstentions. The veto on the right to oblivion was also approved by 75 votes in favor, 58 against, and 13 abstentions. Meanwhile, the provision on SMEs was abolished by 74 in favor, 50 against, and 22 abstentions. After the voting rounds, Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz assured that with this process "the legal framework of the Reconstruction Law is perfected and we move forward with the last steps to have this law definitively transformed into a normative body that governs the country's destiny and allows for rapid dynamism and economic growth." Asked about the review that the Constitutional Court must carry out, the economic head stated that the mega-reform "is an absolutely coherent regulation with our Constitution and laws, so we are calm about that process." Additionally, the Secretary of State affirmed that the government's decision will be to wait for this process in the constitutional body before promulgating the law. "We hope that will be during this month," he added. Supremacy These "repressive" vetoes, which now must be reviewed by the Senate, first by the Finance Committee and then by the chamber in a session scheduled for Wednesday, were submitted last week for processing. In any case, given that these are "repressive" vetoes, the supremacy granted to the President of the Republic by the Fundamental Charter is so strong that it is almost impossible to override the will of the Executive. The Constitution states that, even if the vetoes are rejected by the majority of parliamentarians, Congress must gather two-thirds of the deputies (103 votes) and senators (33 votes) to impose the text initially dispatched by Parliament. Tensions Meanwhile, during the debate in the chamber, Deputy Héctor Ulloa (Ind. PPD), author of the norm that prevented charging interest on interest, resigned to the point that he said "the banking sector did not want to venture into the debate on the substance, on the abuse." "Not everything that makes an industry profitable is good for society," he added. Deputy Juan Antonio Coloma, justifying his vote in favor of the three vetoes, said "the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and that is exactly what we are experiencing here. Three norms that sound great, that seem to help people, but are damaging them." His colleague José Carlos Meza (republican) lashed out at the presidential administration for what he called "the mess they left us" and added that these "are norms that sound very good but work very badly." His words ended with boos as he criticized former Finance Ministers Mario Marcel and Nicolás Grau. "Minister Quiroz has given a lesson that he is the best," said Meza amid jeers. However, the most tense moment was when Deputy Luis Sánchez (republican) pointed at his colleague from Valparaíso and former regional presidential delegate, Sofía González (PC), whom he reproached for now being concerned about SMEs, a facet he believes she abandoned when she was a government authority. His words forced the Vice President of the Chamber, Ximena Ossandón (RN), to call him several times to order, because his speech was diverging from the subject of the session. Sánchez responded to Ossandón, who was presiding over the debate at that moment, not to act with the same yardstick with the opposition. After that, the PC floor leader, Daniela Serrano, asked to remove from the record the references to Deputy González, while questioning the grounds of La Moneda to eliminate the article on SMEs. "There is no technical argument justifying this veto," she said. Otherwise, there will be no law in that part. In other words, the Executive still achieves its goal of eliminating that norm, even if it loses one of the votes.