Walker calls on Arrau to change his "arrogant" attitude and calls for greater dialogue with Congress on the security agenda

Senator Matías Walker questioned Public Security Minister Martín Arrau this Wednesday amid the government's shift on the constitutional security reform promoted by the Executive, and called for seeking greater agreements in Congress. In a conversation with the podcast Cómo te lo explico, hosted by journalists Mónica Rincón and Paula Catena, the legislator addressed the option opened by the government of withdrawing the initiative and stated that the Executive must prioritize dialogue to advance its security agenda. In that regard, Walker argued that "the government realized that security is not something to play with, that you cannot make politics out of security or the Constitution, and that we need to reach an agreement — proof of that being the withdrawal of the constitutional security reform." In the senator's view, the Executive had "a temptation to bring this cultural battle down to the terrain of security," a criticism he linked to the constitutional reform promoted by the government. Withdrawal of the constitutional reform Walker expressed optimism about the option opened by the government to withdraw the security reform, which created a new constitutional state of emergency and restricted rights and freedoms, following an agreement with PPD Senator Pedro Araya, which was recently announced. Given the delay in carrying out the action, the legislator stated that "I understand they will withdraw it the same day this reform is introduced, which Senator Andrés Longton (RN) and Pedro Araya (PPD) are working on. I spoke with Andrés Longton and they are working on a constitutional reform based on three pillars." Along the same lines, Walker noted that it would be advisable for the Executive to acknowledge its mistake in presenting the bill. "I have fought so much with Minister Martín Arrau that I know the exit has to be dignified for the government on this matter, and probably what they want to say is that they withdrew this constitutional reform because a more cross-party agreement has been reached among the senators," said the representative of the Coquimbo Region. He added: "but I would prefer, since Minister Arrau said he did not like going to Congress and preferred management, that he focus on that: increasing the number of Carabineros or police stations." "That constitutional reform bill, in its content and procedures, was a mistake from A to Z, and we need to get out of it quickly," he pointed out. Walker also questioned the attitude that, in his view, Arrau had during the discussion of the initiative: "I think he was damaged by this discussion and I hope he changes his attitude, his arrogance, and understands that in Congress you have to talk things over, that he did not invent the wheel when it comes to security." Asked in what aspects he saw "arrogance" from the minister, Walker pointed to the defense Arrau made of the reform despite the criticisms: "The minister kept insisting on defending it, despite all the criticism." Reform to extend the detention period for migrants Walker was also asked about the government's option of insisting through the Senate on the constitutional reform that would extend the detention period for irregular migrants from five to 30 days — extendable up to three times through the courts — which was rejected by one vote in the Chamber of Deputies on September 22. "I believe we need to legislate on this matter," Walker affirmed, citing as an example the perpetrator of the murder of Carabinero Cristopher Aguilera, which occurred in Lo Espejo, carried out by a Venezuelan national in an irregular migration situation. "We have to accept that there must be an expulsion procedure," said Walker, before noting that the issue was "complex" because people who had not committed any offense would be imprisoned, since in Chile irregular entry across the borders is not a crime. Even so, Walker assured that "my vote is available to revive that discussion," and backed the mechanism of 29 favorable votes to approve the Executive's insistence. The government does not represent the 62% of the Rejection vote Walker also offered an analysis of the political performance of Kast's government, stating that the Executive fails to represent the 62% who voted Rejection in the first constitutional plebiscite. "Chile has a demand for the center, and there has been no center offer in recent years," Walker stated. "It does not represent the 62%. I believe this government won with a figure very close to 62%, but it has had this temptation to fall into this cultural battle, as we saw with the constitutional security reform," he asserted.