The Broad Front continues working on the proposal promised by its chairwoman, Gael Yeomans, to address the debate on the practice of lobbying among its members.
The discussion on lobbying ended up being a boomerang for the FA. The first stone was thrown by the party's former chairwoman when she questioned former Security Minister Luis Cordero for representing the Salmon Industry Association of Chile A.G. in a petition before the Constitutional Court.
"We have always criticized the revolving door between public office and the defense of economic groups, so we cannot make an exception when it involves someone from our own sector," said Martínez at that moment, unleashing a fierce offensive from Democratic Socialism over the moral judgment on the professional practice of former government authorities.
The matter led to the public commitment of the new FA chairwoman, Gael Yeomans, to present a proposal to regulate lobbying within her party, and to the consequent public defense made by President Gabriel Boric's chief of staff, Matías Meza Lopehandía, of his work as a registered lobbyist at the agency KOM.
The uncomfortable debate took hold within the party and has continued to be a topic of internal discussion.
Last week it was discussed at the meeting of the executive board and the deputies' caucus, and as a form of damage control, the national leadership has carried out a series of consultations with the membership, aimed at finding out whether...
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The Broad Front continues working on the proposal committed to by its president, Gael Yeomans, to address the debate over lobbying practices among its members. The discussion about lobbying ended up being a boomerang for the FA. The first stone was thrown by the party's former president when she questioned former Security Minister Luis Cordero for representing the Salmon Industry Association of Chile A.G. in a filing before the Constitutional Court. "We have always criticized the revolving door between public office and the defense of economic groups, which is why we cannot make an exception when it involves someone from our own sector," said Martínez at the time, unleashing a fierce offensive from Democratic Socialism over the moral judgment on the professional activities of former government authorities. The matter led to the public commitment by the new FA president, Gael Yeomans, to present a proposal to regulate lobbying within her party, and to the subsequent public defense by President Gabriel Boric's chief of staff, Matías Meza Lopehandía, of his work as a registered lobbyist at the KOM agency. The uncomfortable debate took hold within the party and has continued to be a topic of internal discussion. Last week it was discussed at the meeting of the executive board and the bench of deputies, and as a form of damage control, the national leadership has made a series of inquiries to the membership, seeking to know what their employment situation is. The idea, in short, is to find out who is in organizations dedicated to lobbying and whom the members who previously served as authorities in the Executive branch are advising. From the party they warn that this is not a "witch hunt" but rather responds to the need to have information on the matter. The board led by Deputy Gael Yeomans has not yet finalized the proposal to address the issue. The discussion did take place during last week's board meeting, where all those consulted note that there are no disagreements about raising the standards regarding the moves from the public to the private sphere. They say that, on the contrary, there is agreement on the need to move forward with what Yeomans committed to. On the board they note that they have not been able to finalize a new proposal on the issue, mainly because the focus of the discussion has centered on current-events matters such as the employment crisis and the budget proposal of Kast's Executive. In the Broad Front they do not seek to prevent leaders from moving into the private sector, but they do consider it important to set certain limits. A basic idea they have discussed is the bill that Gael Yeomans herself introduced on July 14. That proposal aims to amend "Laws No. 20,880, 18,575 and 18,918, to strengthen public probity and integrity in Chile." In it, one of the points explored in depth is the "revolving door or post-employment restrictions in the public sector." The same bill defines that problem as "the movement of professionals between the public and private sectors, specifically when former officials who legislated or regulated an economic area go on to work in companies in the same field, or vice versa. The current diagnosis indicates that this movement generates critical risks to public integrity, such as state capture by corporate interests, the improper use of privileged information, and the exploitation of networks of influence acquired in office to benefit new employers." Along with that, it proposes "extending the abstention period to two years for high-ranking officials and decision-making positions, including ministers, undersecretaries and chiefs of staff of their teams; prohibiting them from lobbying, joining boards of directors, or advising entities that were under their direct supervision. Including severe sanctions: significant fines and permanent disqualification from contracting with the State." This is a proposal similar to the one put forward, within this same discussion and through internal FA channels, by former Finance Minister Nicolás Grau. With regard to the case of Sebastián Aylwin, an FA lawyer who moved from the Ministry of the Environment to a company linked to those issues, Grau stated that "we must be especially careful with our post-government work."