The Lower House of Chile approved this Tuesday the constitutional accusation against President Sebastián Piñera to initiate a political trial against him.
After almost 22 hours of intense debate, 78 deputies voted in favor of opening a process, in front of 67 who did it against and three who abstained. the proposal.
It will now be referred to the Senate. It will be necessary that at least 29 of the 43 Senators support the motion to initiate a political trial against Piñera.
“I want to thank the innumerable expressions of affection and support in this long journey. We only comply with the mandate that the people of Chile have given us, ”wrote on Twitter Deputy Jaime Naranjo, from the Socialist Party (PS), who was in charge of presenting the accusation in the Lower House and intervened during 14 hours and 56 minutes.
This is the first time that the Chilean Lower House approves a constitutional accusation against an incumbent president.
In October, the Prosecutor’s Office opened an ex officio investigation against the president, after the publication of the Pandora Papers, in which alleged irregularities were exposed in the sale of shares of the Dominga mining project in 2010, which took place in the British Virgin Islands, territory considered tax haven.
Piñera, from 71 years and one of the richest men in Chile, he defended against the accusations that he called “unacceptable”, and alleged that the details of the agreement of 2010 were part of a previous judicial investigation that finally had not found fault with the legislation.
However, the Prosecutor’s Office clarified shortly after that the criminal investigation would specifically analyze the operation on Dominga, which it had not been the main object of the previous investigation.
What is the Dominga project?
The sale The controversial mining project has been generating controversy in Chile for years due to its proximity to the Humboldt archipelago (a set of eight islands and islets that protect one of the richest ecosystems in the world).
In addition to the creation of an open pit mine, the plan includes the construction of its own port to export its production and a desalination plant to avoid using the scarce fresh water of the zone, according to Andes Iron, the company res responsible.
The project plans to produce 12 million tons of iron per year and 132. 000 copper during the 22 years of operation. Its construction will employ 10. 000 people and once up and running, the complex will create 1. 450 direct jobs.
Although the initiative is supported by some communities in the area due to the high creation of jobs, also generates a huge controversy.
This, because only 30 kilometers from its port and the desalination plant, is the Reserve Humboldt Penguin National, an ecological area inhabited by the 80% of the world population of the Humboldt penguin, an endangered species.
They are joined by whales and chungungos (a species of otter) that live in the area.
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