A harsh —and pessimistic— statement was delivered this Friday by libertarian congresswoman Gloria Naveillán regarding the possibility that President José Antonio Kast might grant pardons to uniformed officers convicted for events related to the social unrest.
In a conversation with the program Desde la Redacción, from La Tercera, the representative of the La Araucanía Region asserted that the President is very different from the candidate he was during the presidential campaign. "Sometimes, in his rhetoric, he is two different people," she said.
Naveillán attributed this perception, in part, to the lack of progress on granting pardons, a promise that, so far, the President has not fulfilled. "It is one of the things that bothers me the most, because let's agree that we all know and we all remember what he promised," she maintained.
"To begin with, he promised to pardon everyone who was imprisoned for the events of 2019. He also committed to pardoning the people who are in Punta Peuco and other prisons for various accusations. Mind you, no one has been convicted of crimes against humanity; no one, they have been convicted of other types of crimes," she added.
Along those lines, the congresswoman compared the delay in fulfilling this promise to a complicated pregnancy. "He promised that, but we are nine months into the government. This is like a pregnancy, but one of those difficult pregnancies, the kind with bed rest, partial and then complete, in between, and with forceps. It still hasn't arrived...
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A tough —and pessimistic— statement was delivered this Friday by libertarian congresswoman Gloria Naveillán regarding the possibility that President José Antonio Kast might grant pardons to uniformed officers convicted for events related to the social unrest. In a conversation with the program Desde la Redacción, from La Tercera, the representative of the La Araucanía Region asserted that the President is very different from the candidate he was during the presidential campaign. "Sometimes, in his discourse, they are two different people," she said. Naveillán attributed this perception, in part, to the lack of progress on granting pardons, a promise that, so far, the President has not fulfilled. "It is one of the things that bothers me the most, because let's agree that we all know and we all remember what he promised," she maintained. "To begin with, he promised to pardon everyone who was imprisoned for the events of 2019. He also committed to pardoning the people who are in Punta Peuco and other prisons for various accusations. Mind you, no one has been convicted of crimes against humanity; no one, they have been convicted of other types of crimes," she added. Along those lines, the congresswoman compared the delay in fulfilling this promise to a complicated pregnancy. "He promised that, but we are nine months into the government. This is like a pregnancy, but one of those difficult pregnancies, you know, with bed rest and absolute rest in between, and with force. We still haven't reached the delivery," she joked. DRAGOMIR YANKOVIC/ATON CHILE However, she expressed her pessimism about the possibility that the commitment will finally be fulfilled. "The thing is that throughout this whole difficult pregnancy he hasn't delivered. And with everything that happened, with the way he handled the Justice Ministry issue, he put, in my view, and being super honest with myself, the tombstone on the pardons," she said. Asked whether she believed the President would ultimately grant this benefit, Naveillán was categorical: "I don't think so, and I think that would be unforgivable." She also maintained that the possibility of carrying out the pardons existed before the current political crisis triggered by the signing of decrees by Justice Minister Fernando Rabat, which allowed sentence reductions for pedophiles. "In all those circumstances, this could have moved forward, he could have fulfilled his campaign promise. But today, with these political circumstances, with the impeachment underway, I sincerely (...) hope is the last thing you lose, but I see it as a long shot," she lamented. Despite this scenario, the congresswoman asserted that her party will continue pressing the President to carry out the granting of this benefit. Watch the full interview here: