Chile’s Supreme Court has initiated an investigation into one of its members, Justice Ángela Vivanco, and has suspended her from her duties. This action follows the recent leak to local media of WhatsApp chats that link her to an ongoing corruption scandal known as the “Audios Case.” The leaked communications reveal interactions between Vivanco and Luis Hermosilla, a prominent lawyer at the centre of the scandal, who is currently facing charges including money laundering, bribery of public officials, and tax fraud. The chats allegedly reveal that Vivanco sought assistance for her appointment to the Court, attempted to influence judicial nominations, and shared sensitive case information. Vivanco has 20 days to respond to these allegations. The “Audios Case,” which has already implicated various public figures and notably affected the judicial branch, raises significant concerns about corruption and transparency in Chile's judicial appointment processes, according to legal experts. In addition to the Supreme Court's investigation, constitutional charges have been brought against Vivanco in parliament, which could lead to her removal.

Sources:  El Pais, Ciper Chile, CNN, La Tercera

President Gabriel Boric has announced new measures to address insecurity, following a surge in violent crime, including a rise in firearm-related homicides, and an increase in organized crime activity. Only in July, 16 homicides were reported, adding to recent crime waves. The government’s  measures include pushing for an immediate congressional debate on two legislative projects that have been stalled in Congress for some years and seek to combat organized crime: one on economic intelligence that aims to improve the traceability of illicit money and another to strengthen and modernize the state’s intelligence system. Other measures include the construction of a high-security prison, the increase in the capacity of the country’s current maximum-security prison and the creation of a special task force on security in Santiago. However, these steps have been criticized as insufficient and long overdue by members of the opposition and by some members of the ruling coalition.

Sources: Bio Bio Chile, El Pais, La Tercera (1), La Tercera (2), Gobierno de Chile

On 17 December, in the country's second constitutional referendum, a majority of Chileans voted against the proposed new constitution. 55 per cent of voters rejected a draft that had been prepared by a Constitutional Council in which right-wing and far-right members were the majority. According to critics of the draft, pressing issues, such as women’s rights and the secular character of the country, were at stake. Voter turnout was 84.5 per cent; voting was mandatory. The rejection of this second draft ends a constitutional process that started four years ago.

After the results were revealed and amid “constitutional fatigue”, President Boric announced the “closure” of the constitutional process and the need to focus on other pressing issues. 70.1 per cent of women between 18 and 34 years of age voted “against”, in comparison to 62.7 per cent of men of the same age. Such data also shows that most of those aged between 18 and 34 years voted decidedly “against”.

Sources: El Pais (1), British Broadcasting Corporation, DecideChile, El Pais (2), El Pais (3)  

A national plan to search for victims of enforced disappearances during the Pinochet dictatorship was launched by President Gabriel Boric on 30 August, International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. The Plan aims to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and whereabouts of victims, their recovery and identification, as well as to guarantee the rights of victims and their families to truth, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence.  The plan will have an assigned budget for its implementation, and is part of the initiatives launched in remembrance of the 50th anniversary of the coup that overthrew President Salvador Allende in 1973. Over 3,200 people were killed or disappeared during the dictatorship. 

Sources: Gobierno de Chile, El Pais

A close ally of President Gabriel Boric, Giorgio Jackson, has quit as Minister of Social Development. Congress’s right-wing legislators had threatened to promote a constitutional complaint against him, after having called for his resignation for months. Jackson’s approval had waned after last year’s public rejection of a draft constitution generally endorsed by Chile’s left, and criticism of his leadership had intensified as a consequence of a corruption probe. His party, Democratic Revolution (Revolucion Democratica), which is part of the Frente Amplio ruling coalition, has been implicated in a scandal involving the transfer of public funds to a foundation with ties to it. Further criticism of Jackson’s leadership revolved around the theft of computer equipment and other resources from the Social Development Ministry. While Jackson argued that the accusations against him by right-wing political parties were being used as an excuse to paralyze government-backed reforms, President Boric accepted the resignation. 

Sources: MercoPress, El Pais (1), El Pais (2)

Chile’s Supreme Court issued separate non-appealable rulings, in which it convicted former members of the military and security agencies for crimes related to the kidnapping and political assassination of two victims of the dictatorship, Victor Jara and Carmelo Soria, nearly 50 years after the crimes were committed.  

Seven retired officials were found responsible for the coverup or commission of the kidnapping, torture and assassination of singer-songwriter and Salvador Allende supporter, Victor Jara, in 1973. They received sentences between eight and 25-years imprisonment. Along with the head of the Allende Government’s Prison System, Littre Quiroga, Jara was singled out among the thousands of detained supporters of Allende, tortured and killed.  

Another ruling convicted eight former military and security officers of different crimes related to the kidnapping and assassination of Carmelo Soria. The convicted individuals received sentences between 10- and 15-years imprisonment. Soria, Spanish diplomat and member of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, was killed in 1976 for political reasons, given his communist political affiliation. 

Sources: El Pais (1), Deutsche Welle, El Pais (2)