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By 35 votes in favor, 1 against and 5 abstentions, the Senate Chamber approved in general and in particular the Government’s project for the second withdrawal of pension funds. It was the culmination of a busy day where the Corporation previously rejected – thanks to the “pirquineo” of the Executive with the wayward senators of Chile Vamos – the constitutional reform promoted by opposition deputies.
The Government takes happy accounts with the result of the vote, since with its strategy of resorting to the Constitutional Court and the support of all Chile Vamos, it left the opposition in check and the majority of this sector had to vote in favor not to run the risk of defeating the possibility of a withdrawal of funds.
In fact, the opposition reluctantly folded with the Executive’s project, and only the Socialists Isabel Allende, Carlos Montes, Rabindranath Quinteros, Alfonso de Urresti and Evópoli Felipe Kast abstained. The independent Pedro Araya voted against.
Now the bill goes to the Chamber of Deputies to continue with its processing, where it needs a simple majority, while the constitutional reform will extend its processing in the Mixed Commission and its hearing is still pending in the Constitutional Court.
This was the vote:
Senators such as Carolina Goic (DC), Yasna Provoste (DC) and Francisco Huenchumilla (DC) announced their vote in favor of the Executive’s bill, which was substantially changed in the United Finance and Labor commissions. But in their speeches, they criticized the Government and assured that they will vote in favor so that the people have access to these resources because the project that comes from the Chamber of Deputies would not have the quorums assured in the mixed commission and also runs the risk of Constitutional Court.
Most criticism from the opposition points out that in the first withdrawal of 10%, the government tried to brand it as “bad public policy.” “I greatly regret what the government has done, which has not only played with the TC but with the hopes of the people,” said PS Isabel Allende, who abstained, like her colleague, the vice president of the Senate, Rabindranath Quinteros.
The latter pointed out that the Government calls into question the institutionality, among other things, with “its rude use of its majority in the TC, which is the most orderly bench that remains.”
Meanwhile, focusing on one of the controversial points of the project (the one that establishes that retirement constitutes income), Senator DC Yasna Provoste announced a presentation “together with Senator Carlos Bianchi and the president (Adriana Muñoz) of an indication that replaces a text that was in the original text of the first and second withdrawal, which is that the funds withdrawn will not constitute income or remuneration for any legal effect, so they will be delivered in full and will not be subject to commissions or any discount by the AFPs “. However, this indication was unsuccessful and was declared inadmissible.
“This project is abusing, the previous one had no fine print,” said independent senator Carlos Bianchi. “Like COVID-19, we are led to believe that the government mutated a good person,” he added. His vote, “unfortunately because it is a bad copy”, was in favor.
“(Cristian) Larroulet, that president in the shadows, must be concerned. His ministers changed their horse,” said the socialist Alfonso de Urresti, criticizing the Minister of Finance, Ignacio Briones, who had criticized the first withdrawal of 10%. His option was also abstention.
Criticisms of the “kitchen”
On the right, as expected, they voted in favor of the government’s initiative. “It is constitutional,” said RN Francisco Chahuán, “and it delivers the resources soon.” Meanwhile, the UDI Juan Antonio Coloma also voted in favor, although he maintained his apprehensions about withdrawals, as he stated in the first project.
However, in the opposition, Senator Juan Ignacio Latorre (RD) accused that “I see President Piñera more concerned about the defense of the AFPs than about anything else,” while another flank of criticism that opened this project was the meetings that the Executive held with senators to convince them to vote in favor. The well-known “kitchen” in Congress. “Here there was blackmail by the government. Either they support this project or we take the other to the TC,” criticized Bianchi.
The PPD Guido Girardi, who voted in favor, aligning his bench in common, criticized the “opportunism” of this Executive project. In turn, the president of the Senate Adriana Muñoz (PPD) accused that here there was a “fine political operation” of the Government against the constitutional reform presented by the deputies.
It should be remembered that previously, since the quorum of three fifths (26 votes) was not reached, the Senate rejected the constitutional reform presented by the deputies. There were 23 votes in favor, 10 against and 8 abstentions (RNs Juan Castro, Francisco Chahuán, Manuel José Ossandón, Rafael Prohens and Marcela Sabat, as well as UDI José Durana, Iván Moreira and David Sandoval). The “somersault” of the five pro-government senators who had initially expressed their support and who ended up accepting the motion presented last week by the Government was decisive in the result.
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