Maximum tension in the Chamber: deputies reject the Education budget item and the Justice budget debate ends in shouting

The tension reached such a point in the Chamber of Deputies that the corporation's secretary, Miguel Landeros, decided to step down from the rostrum to separate and try to convince Deputy Lorena Pizarro (PC) and other opposition legislators to return to their seats during the discussion of the 2027 Budget Law. "Tell me to my face, tell me to my face!" the Communist parliamentarian, daughter and daughter-in-law of disappeared detainees, was loudly saying to Deputy Javiera Rodríguez (Republican), who, when taking the floor, ironized about a supposed profit behind the public funding of certain human rights organizations. "I want to start by expressing my repudiation to those who have arrogated ownership of human rights in Chile. My repudiation to that great company called Human Rights Company... They are businessmen of others' pain," said Rodríguez, who self-styled herself as the "captain," in allusion to her parents, who are retired Carabineros officers. At that moment, the allocation for the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights was being debated, a discussion already known to be difficult due to the controversy generated by the reduction of sentences adopted by Minister Fernando Rabat in favor of those convicted of sexual offenses against minors. In fact, in their speeches, the opposition insisted that Rabat was no longer a "valid interlocutor." However, the statements made by the Republican legislator completely changed the focus, and Pizarro felt personally targeted. "There are limits," she said, but since Rodríguez began shouting at her from the other end, the PC parliamentarian retorted, "Stop shouting like an energúmena." Despite the Chamber's vice president, Ximena Ossandón (RN), calling for order from Rodríguez, seeing that the tension was not subsiding, she decided to suspend the session. Previously, Ossandón also reprimanded Pizarro for reiterating the insult "energúmena." "Deputy (Rodríguez) went too far," the Chamber secretary was heard saying over the transmission before the session was suspended. "Shut up!" The episode did not end there, as Pizarro and other opponents crossed over to the Republican sector. Some legislators present who watched the scene commented privately that they were beginning to fear the situation would "get out of hand." Pizarro was very upset, as other Republican deputies continued to launch pointed comments. "Shut up, you have no moral to speak!" the Communist said to her Republican peer, Sebastián Zamora, a former Carabineros officer. After the incidents, which did not escalate thanks to the intervention of the Chamber authorities, the head of the PC bloc, Daniela Serrano, announced that they would take Rodríguez to the Ethics Commission. The Republicans, for their part, replied that they would do the same to Pizarro. Fortunately for the government, the events did not affect the approval of the Justice allocation (85 votes in favor and 59 against), which had the support of the ruling party and the PDG. However, parliamentarians from all opposition blocs held a press conference to express their solidarity with Pizarro. Rodríguez also held a press conference, accompanied only by parliamentarians from her party, in which she stated that she was not sorry for her remarks, although she denied that the father of the PC legislator had been alluded to during the altercation. No other right-wing deputies participated in that staging. Nor did the head of the Republican bloc, Benjamín Moreno, who, once the session resumed, made a hand gesture to Rodríguez to stop the controversy. Apparently, in the right-wing bloc, the situation generated more discomfort than solidarity with Rodríguez, since her remarks completely distorted the budgetary discussion. In fact, after a committee meeting, the Chamber table, with the unanimous support of all political forces, issued a statement regretting the events and warning that they would sanction "malicious" expressions. "The corporation demands of you, as a duty of conduct, to act with fraternity toward your colleagues. This implies carefully refraining from any malicious or insulting expression and from allusions to your personal background. This is a regulatory obligation that admits no exceptions and is not a mere recommendation, whose observance is an indispensable condition for a respectful parliamentary debate worthy of the function that the citizenry has entrusted to you," the text says. "By virtue of the foregoing, any conduct that violates what has been stated above will be sanctioned according to the provisions of the regulations of the Chamber of Deputies and Deputies," the statement concludes. Setback in Education Meanwhile, in the other allocations, although the debate did not reach the same extreme, there were also tense moments. The most painful defeat for the Executive was the rejection of the replenishment of the Ministry of Education's allocation. These funds had already faced rejection from the Mixed Commission, which, in a tactical decision, let them fall due to complaints from both the ruling party and the opposition regarding cuts to the programs of that portfolio. Before the start of the vote, the Minister of Finance, Jorge Quiroz, defended the allocation and emphasized: "This is a responsible budget that asks for every peso to account for its contribution." In addition to this, they opened the search for a formula in the Senate to restore the computer delivery program "I choose my PC," within the TIC Access Scholarships. "Having heard the chamber and taking what has always been President Kast's motivation for education, especially basic education, we want to propose at the Senate a joint perspective, where we consider computer deliveries, but also consider collecting elements that allow us to improve this program," Quiroz explained. The minister's signal, however, was not enough, and with a narrow vote—a tie with 72 votes in favor and 72 against—the Mineduc funds were rejected. Again, a key factor in the result were the PDG deputies and a last-minute tie between deputies Marisela Santibáñez (Ind.) and Ximena Ossandón (RN). The day before, some absences and the vote against by deputy Carlos Chandía (RN) were also decisive in the 71-vote tie of the Ministry of the Interior allocation, which was also declared rejected as it did not achieve a majority of the chamber. Cuts In Mineduc, the main concerns focused on the minor contributions to higher education, to Bicentennial high schools, and the end of the "I choose my PC" program. Criticisms were also added for the minor resources allocated to the Local Public Education Services (SLEP), early childhood education, Junji, and the school feeding and health plans of Junaeb. "Fiscal adjustment cannot be paid for with the computers of our country's children," noted the president of the DC, Álvaro Ortiz. It was even harsher from the head of the Communist Party bloc, Daniela Serrano: "The Minister of Education is not doing a bad job, she is doing a terrible job. That is the reality. So if there is a deputy who wants to ask for resignation, let them do it right now, because one really doesn't understand this budget... This government will be remembered by the slogan 'Educating is cutting.'" "I manifest my deep concern about the issue of indigenous scholarships. Because of the wait and the future layoffs that teachers will face as the allocations for the SLEP decrease, and, of course, all these issues that seem like the government simply doesn't care about... I will reject this allocation because I strongly defend public education," said the head of the PPD bloc, Andrea Parra. The opposition's rejection was also joined by the People's Party, as explained by its bloc head, Juan Marcelo Valenzuela. "I long for a country where the child of a worker can go further than their parents, where we level up, never down. Let's not repeat the nefarious ideas of the past. What is this about bringing a child down from their skates? We want every child to be able to get on them and launch into life, and with this budget, we are putting precisely that at risk. That is why I vote against this allocation," detailed. Meanwhile, the ruling party defended the budget presented by the Executive. "Defending the education budget is an act not only of fiscal responsibility, but also of justice for our children. For too long, the discussion in this chamber has focused on how much we spend, leaving secondary the most important thing: how and how much our children learn and what opportunities we are giving them. This budget seeks to correct that course," noted the Republican deputy Alejandro Riquelme.