Vodanovic (PS) and meeting with Boric and Bachelet: "It was not a meeting of two presidential candidates, but of two former presidents"

The prominence of former presidents Michelle Bachelet and Gabriel Boric has marked much of the opposition's agenda in recent weeks, but the chairwoman of the Socialist Party, Senator Paulina Vodanovic, is quick to clarify that they are not acting as candidates for La Moneda, but rather playing an articulating role in the sector as former heads of state. In conversation with La Tercera's program Desde la Redacción, the legislator explained that the meeting held this Thursday by the leaders of the center-left parties with the former heads of state "did not consist of talking about presidential candidacies. She (Bachelet) began by pointing out that this was not a meeting of two presidential candidates, but of two former presidents. That is how the meeting began." Likewise, Vodanovic explained that at the meeting the former presidents made "a call to action, to do many more things than we are doing today, to have greater territorial work." Along those lines, she added: "I don't see it as a call to order, but rather as a legitimate concern of two former presidents who are and have always been committed to our country and who view with concern, as they conveyed, the current state of politics, the measures the Government is taking, and what is happening with many rights that we can consider a step backward." Call not to cross the aisle Meanwhile, the Socialist chairwoman, addressing the government's agenda on security, made a call for order within her sector. "There is a deliberate strategy by the government here, and I would expect that those of us who are progressives and have a critical view of what the Government is doing would talk among ourselves first, and not cross the aisle at the first siren's call, as has been the pattern so far," she stated. "Politics is collective and requires collective analysis and reflection. And those who choose another option will have to give explanations," she added. However, she made a clarification regarding her party's senator Fidel Espinoza: "He is often mentioned, but I challenge them to look at his votes. Because, in general, it also happened in the previous government that he was quite critical, but he voted in line with the caucus. And I'm not making a personal or corporate defense, but it is also easy to try to create a tie." Criminalizing protest In addition, Vodanovic explained why she is against the constitutional reform bill on Security drafted by senators Arturo Squella (REP), Arturo Longton (RN) and Pedro Araya (PPD), pointing out that it seeks to criminalize protest and does not help in the fight against organized crime. "It seems very dangerous to me that in a democratic state there is an attempt to establish persecution or anticipation, based on secret reports, and the criminalization of protest," she said. "Protest, the right to peaceful demonstration — and I repeat, peaceful, so that afterwards they don't say I am defending violence — is guaranteed in the Constitution. Therefore, if there is an attempt to restrict rights such as assembly, mobilization or other rights, in advance, for me that is a legal discussion, but one with an underlying political vision of an ultra-right sector." October 18 Meanwhile, when asked about the seventh anniversary of the so-called social uprising, Vodanovic criticized the chairman of the Republican Party, Arturo Squella. "I consider it very serious what Senator Squella did a few days ago in justifying human rights violations in the context of October 18, because there are rulings from the courts of justice — which are another branch of the judiciary — and we, as the legislative branch, must respect the rulings. Whether we like them or not," she said. Along those lines, her reflection pointed out that "we do not share, neither the violence nor the events that occurred in terms of human rights violations," and that "there are also unsatisfied social demands that must be addressed. Obviously, pensions as a result of last year's pension reform have improved or are on the way to improving, but there are plenty of other unsatisfied demands which I believe the State must address because they are legitimate and which, again I insist, have nothing to do with the justification of violence." Pardons Facing the debate that has arisen over pardons and over how those sentenced with terminal illnesses should spend their final days, Vodanovic stated: "I have always been very categorical, even regarding President Boric's pardons. I believe it is a monarchical institution, totally un-democratic, and it also has to do with the separation of powers." "If ultimately the judiciary imposes a sentence, it should not be the executive branch that comes to end that sentence, which is why I have already said what I said. And therefore, the health situations of people, in the case of those with Alzheimer's or other types of psychiatric disorders, is resolved in our legislation today. And in fact, lawyers request before the Guarantee Court that those people continue serving their sentence at home. The Criminal Procedure Code speaks of mental insanity, that is the term. And therefore, that is resolved today," she added. "And yes, the situation of people who are in a state of physical deterioration with terminal illnesses remains to be resolved (...) But I believe we have to be — at least we were as a party in a statement we issued, and I am in personal terms — very categorical that no space can be opened here for impunity," she concluded. See the full interview here: