President Bachelet: “This is a serious situation and together we must put a stop to it”

In a ceremony at La Moneda Palace this afternoon, President Michelle Bachelet announced a series of stringent and effective measures, which will be introduced by the Government to regulate the relationships between politics and money. The measures will affect both the public sector and business.
The President began her speech by acknowledging that “for some time, cases have been coming to light concerning the corporate or political worlds and the relationships between them and these have understandably caused concern and discontent among the public. And I have to say, these revelations have been painful for those of us who believe in an equal country free from privilege.”

The measures include the creation of a Presidential Advisory Council to address conflicts of interests, the traffic of influence and corruption. The working group will be chaired by Eduardo Engel and comprise 15 others with an impeccable track record in the public and private domains.

The group will be responsible for improving Chile’s legal framework to ensure that no one benefits from having privileged information or political contacts; that civil servants are not exposed to the power of money; abuses of power are eliminated; and more importantly, to ensure that those found guilty are effectively sanctioned.

The group will determine the sanctions against those who have used illegal practices to gain positions representing the public and establish exclusions for exercising such positions or positions within the public sector in general and within central and local government. It will also establish effective and accessible mechanisms to defend citizens against any arbitrary acts and corruption that may affect them.

The group will also draw up a strict code of practice and ethics to guide decision making processes within the political and corporate spheres and the public sector. The code of practice and ethics will go beyond classifications and legal sanctions and is intended to become part of the educational curriculum, particularly in higher education in order to develop a culture and ethic of transparency.

The deadline for the submission of proposals by the Advisory Council will be 45 days from today. The Government will then deliver the administrative guidelines within two weeks of receiving the proposals. The draft bills resulting from these proposals will be sent to Congress within 40 days.

President Bachelet announced that she has asked her ministers to draw up the corresponding draft bills and indications; and that a constitutional reform bill will be sent to Congress to establish the sanctions, which will include the removal from post of anyone who has used illegal practices to gain a position representing the public. The exclusions to holding various positions within the regulated private sector and the public sector in general, will be made stricter and more specific; regulations on the use of state assets and resources will be updated and guidelines will be established to ensure strict compliance.

The President also announced that she has asked for administrative and legal measures to extend the scope of application to be issued as soon as possible. Similarly, she revealed that high ranking public officials and former presidents, starting with herself, will now have to produce more detailed declarations of assets and interests on an ongoing basis. “Those of us who have gained the people’s trust must respond to them in a transparent manner,” she said.

Finally, the President made an appeal to “rebuild trust and restore dignity to the political and corporate activities that contribute so much to Chile’s development. Now is not the time for personal calculations; it is the time for patriotism. I ask for the support of each and every one of you to move ahead with this undertaking, which is crucial to building a partnership of which we can feel proud.”