The first major blow by the opposition against the dissidents (and its unsuspected effects)

Sunday, October 18. The confusing telematic permission Around 8:30 p.m., when the Zoom meeting of his Socialist Party peers was well underway, the president of the PS, Paulina Vodanovic, joined, apologizing for the delay, explaining that she was traveling to Santiago from Talca and had had connection problems. Minutes earlier, Juan Luis Castro, head of the Democratic Socialism bench—which brings together the PS, PPD and PL—had warned that the support and complicity of Senator Pedro Araya (PPD) with the right, in his role as president of the Constitution, Legislation, Justice and Regulations Committee, was unsustainable. It was time to dot the i's, he said, and recover the majority lost in this instance, on the eve of key votes, such as the constitutional reform against organized crime that had been introduced by Araya and the government members of this table, Andrés Longton (RN) and Arturo Squella (Republican). Also on the agenda was the insistence on the rejected immigration reform and the change to the adolescent criminal responsibility law, among other key issues for the Executive, as well as the nomination of Judicial Branch authorities. Castro asked his colleagues for permission to explore, together with the head of the PPD senators, Raúl Celis—who is also deputy head of the Democratic Socialism committee—a formula that would allow removing Araya and recovering control of this strategic committee. Except for Senator Fidel Espinoza, who warned about the political consequences this action could bring, the rest of those present raised no objections. On the understanding, they specify, that the decision had the consent of their partners, who also did not look kindly on Araya's distancing himself from the majority positions of the opposition. The discomfort over his actions had been a topic of conversation in official instances and in the halls of the Senate in recent months. At the end of September, amid the discussion of La Moneda's security agenda, the socialist leadership had already asked the president of the PPD, Raúl Soto, to take action on the matter before things got out of hand. In recent weeks, the tension had escalated to such a point, they say, that Araya's dialogue with the other representatives of the opposition—Claudia Pascual (PC) and Vodanovic—had broken down, after he prioritized the government's initiatives. In the Upper Chamber, moreover, it was an open secret that the experienced politician—who was a member of the DC and the defunct PRI before joining the PPD—had become an opposition ally of the Interior and Seggegob biminister, Claudio Alvarado. Although Castro denied any kind of connection to La Tercera, the offensive came three days after former presidents Michelle Bachelet and Gabriel Boric called on the leaders of the opposition parties to confront the government with a more strategic vision. At that meeting held on the morning of Thursday, October 14, at the Horizonte Ciudadano foundation, Vodanovic challenged her peers. "Everyone talks about unity, but in these months we have given the government several successes," she said, in a clear reference to Araya. In turn, the president of Frente Amplio, Gael Yeomans, referred to the "stone-by-stone" approach that La Moneda was deploying to obtain majorities. "Pacta sunt servanda ('what is agreed binds')", was one of the phrases that the head of the PS, Paulina Vodanovic, repeated in several interviews to explain the decision to remove Araya. DIEGO MARTIN/ATON CHILE Monday 19. The PPD's fury That morning, at the Congress headquarters in Santiago, Castro carried out the operation. Exercising his regulatory prerogatives and on a handwritten paper, he requested—around 1:00 p.m.—that the secretary of the Senate, Luis Rojas, process the replacement of Araya by Mirosevic, with whom he had spoken previously. At first, the maneuver did not cause much stir, since the request bore the signature of Celis himself, to whom Castro had proposed taking over Araya's position, which he declined, as did Senator Loreto Carvajal, also PPD, who supported the offensive and also turned down the offer. The PPD Senator Ximena Órdenes, on the other hand, like the head of her party and Araya himself, found out when everything was already done. All hell broke loose in the PPD, especially among historical figures like Guido Girardi, who demanded explanations from Soto. He, in turn, called Vodanovic to reproach her in harsh terms that, despite having coincided on Saturday at a PPD event in Talca, she had not said a single word to him about what they "had in mind." Cornered, Celis asked to withdraw his signature from the document; however, it was already too late. Resigned, he participated alongside Vodanovic in one of the subcommittees where the Budget Law is discussed—from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.—without making any comments to her. It was not the first time that the head of the PPD senators had been forced to reverse his own decision. During the discussion of the reconstruction law, he had agreed to an accord on tax invariability, which he regretted after receiving pressure from his party. Although much of the opposition celebrated the bloodless coup, the news fell like a bucket of cold water on the PPD leadership. The action evidenced the party's current moment of weakness; it was founded in 1987 by Ricardo Lagos. The fact that the board was unaware of it left Soto in an uncomfortable position. Also Guido Girardi, who had backed him for the leadership of the party. The offensive came days after former presidents Bachelet and Boric called on the leaders of the opposition parties to confront the government with a more strategic vision. LUIS QUINTEROS/ATON CHILE Tuesday 20. The dice are cast First thing in the morning, Castro, on La Tercera's program Desde la Redacción, downplayed the blow to Araya. He stressed that the decision had had Celis's consent, and that it was not the first time something like this had happened. He recalled that Girardi himself promoted the removal from the same position of his colleague Felipe Harboe in May 2020, for supporting the bill that limited reelection. Throughout that day there were approaches between figures of the PPD and the PS to reach an agreement and prevent Mirosevic's assumption from being finalized. The former PPD senator Ricardo Lagos Weber, who was at the Congress, met with Vodanovic. Soto, meanwhile, had lunch privately with the socialist leader and with Castro, whom he asked to freeze the decision in order to reach an agreement and avoid a crisis. "The dice are already cast," they replied. "Pacta sunt servanda ('what is agreed binds')", was one of the phrases the head of the PS repeated to Soto, pointing out that Araya was failing in his role as a representative of the opposition. "There is a lack of stature and a more general view of the opposition's great objectives. An opposition that maintains a policy of persistent antagonism will not get very far." Backed by his party, Araya reacted harshly: "Democratic Socialism or Authoritarian Socialism?" he said at an improvised press point, and called on Castro to explain the real reasons for his removal. "What bothers you so much about a reform to confront organized crime?" he added. At 7:00 p.m., when rain was falling heavily in the central zone, the PPD board and five former presidents—Bitar, Girardi, Víctor Barrueto, Gonzalo Navarrete and Natalia Piergentili—connected remotely. Tohá did not attend. Girardi—who brought Araya into the PPD in January 2024—defended the constitutional right of a parliamentarian to introduce bills and seek agreements on security issues. And although several pointed out that the senator was playing with fire, everyone agreed that the "stab in the back" was unacceptable. It was agreed not to open a "war of statements" and to respond through a communiqué—in which they state that they will continue to act with complete freedom on security issues. The meeting ended after 9:00 p.m. At that hour, Vodanovic was leaving the Congress with her team intending to find a place to eat. They ended up at the Idílico Restobar, located on Plaza México in Viña del Mar, where the entire Republican bench was gathered, with whom she exchanged jokes. "There is a lack of political stature and a more general view of the opposition's current main objectives. An opposition that maintains a policy of persistent antagonism will not get very far," Sergio Bitar tells La Tercera, summarizing what happened. Senator Pedro Araya and Segpres minister José García Ruminot. Months earlier, Araya had already been replaced on the Regulations Committee, due to his openness to dialogue with the government during the discussion of the reconstruction law. Prensa Segpres Wednesday 21. The crisis moves to Valparaíso "If you love Pedro so much, why don't you take him to your own committee and put him on some committee?" Vodanovic replied to Longton, after he reproached her for Araya's removal, minutes before the session began in which Mirosevic assumed the presidency of the Constitution Committee, with a loud strike of the bell. At that same hour, in the Chamber of Deputies, Soto asked Yeomans and her DC counterpart, Álvaro Ortiz, to meet in the cafeteria. Without linking it to the Araya episode, the PPD leader told them that it was time for the Monday coordination meetings to rotate locations, as the Concertación parties used to do, and not be held exclusively at the PS headquarters, as had been the case until now. This was a topic that had been discussed before, so both deputies accepted. "It is a symbolic decision that ends the PS's role as primus inter pares," says a PPD leader. When the coffees were nearly finished, Soto proposed to them carrying out promptly another idea they had been maturing in private: moving the axis of opposition coordination from the Senate to the Chamber of Deputies, where three of the sector's party presidents are located, unlike the Upper Chamber, where only Vodanovic is. Later, Yeomans was surprised when she was called to consult her about the new power scheme within the opposition, decided as a result of Araya's removal. Her idea, she commented that day, was never to harm the socialists. In any case, she accepted. "It gives me goosebumps that we are in such tough moments—referring to the sentence reductions for those convicted of sexual crimes against minors—with internal problems, but it happens in all families." Aware of the discomfort of their peers—some even willing to throw out the administrative pact with the right for the presidency of the Senate—Vodanovic and Castro requested a meeting with the president of the corporation, Paulina Núñez. The objective was to explain to her the reasons for the removal and that the administrative agreement was not in doubt—which includes the leadership of the Senate for the next four years, as well as the presidencies and members of its 24 committees. The meeting took place at two in the afternoon in Núñez's office—on the third floor of the building in Valparaíso—which was also attended by Senator Alfonso de Urresti, one of the potential victims of a possible breakdown of the agreement, since, on paper, he will preside over the Upper Chamber in 2027. On the occasion, they asked the head of the Senate to convey to La Moneda that they should not continue with the "stone-by-stone" vote-getting, since they were open to reaching agreements. Núñez assured them, contrary to the opinion of Minister Alvarado and a good part of the right-wing senators, that the administrative pact remained intact. She did ask them that Mirosevic be open to discussing the new Security reform and not block the Executive's agenda. Shortly after, the senator from Arica said that, in his new role, he did not intend to deny the Government "salt and water." "There will be a willingness to dialogue here, but not individually. That is the big difference," he specified. In order to lower the tension, the boards of the PS and the PPD met on Thursday afternoon. Thursday 22. Making peace Minutes before 7:00 p.m., Vodanovic, along with vice presidents Arturo Barrios and Jorge Millaquén, left the PS headquarters and walked a few meters along the cobblestone París street, at that hour wet with rain, toward the PPD. At that moment, Soto, Bitar and other leaders were participating in a meeting with young people on Education. Upon entering and going up to the second floor, the meeting was interrupted and those present began to shout "Unity, Unity, Unity...". Bitar took the floor, thanked the gesture, said that it had been a tough moment, that it has had many costs and that it cannot happen again. Then, the senator said that it "gives me goosebumps that we are in such tough moments—referring to the sentence reductions for those convicted of sexual crimes against minors—with internal problems, but it happens in all families," while also embracing the call for unity. Thus they tried to close one of the most tense weeks since Democratic Socialism crossed over to the opposition in March. However, the effects remain to be seen. For now, tomorrow the opposition leaders will meet at the historic DC headquarters, at Alameda 1460, and then will come the FA, PL, PC and PPD. The party presidents agreed to meet tomorrow at the DC headquarters. The meeting will be marked by a special tension following the so-called "Arayazo."