On March 11, the Chamber of Deputies voted on a censorship motion raised by the right-wing Social Christian Party (PSC) calling for the removal of Karol Cariola from her office as president of the body. Cariola, a legislator from the Communist Party of Chile, shocked the world when she appeared in the legislature with her nine-day old son in her arms. The censure motion was defeated with 72 votes against, 51 in favor, and 1 abstention.
During the proceedings, Cariola harshly criticized her opponents: “who identify themselves as pro-life… were not capable of respecting even the first week of a mother’s encounter with her child.”
She continued, “This censorship [motion] that they have raised, portrays them exactly as they are, it is a political outrage without name, carried out by people who do not measure feelings and much less humanity… I have been attacked at a time when I could not defend myself.”
What is Cariola accused of?
The Social Christian Party requested the motion of censure because of her alleged involvement in the Sierra Bella case, which led to an investigation for possible influence peddling. The Sierra Bella Case is a judicial investigation into the failed purchase of a former clinic called Sierra Bella by the mayor’s office of Santiago de Chile, led by Irací Hassler.
Leaked conversations between Cariola and Hassler involved the idea of creating a community clinic for women. The clinic would focus on sexual and reproductive health, mental health, and other services.
In a much-criticized act on March 3, while Cariola was giving birth to her son, the Investigative Police (PDI) raided her home to collect possible clues about her alleged participation in the excessive appraisal of the property for some 8.2 billion pesos. Allegedly to adjust the price to the municipality’s budget.
Boric defends Cariola
Cariola has repeatedly denounced this as an act of political persecution. President Gabriel Boric expressed his solidarity with the legislator and saluted the vote: “I want to take this opportunity to send a big hug from here to Valparaíso to Karol Cariola and her son Borja, who were in Congress today…For the second time, the right tried to censor the table chaired by Karol Cariola, and for the second time, censorship was rejected.”
Regarding the recurrent attempts of the right-wing to censure Cariola, Boric said “I would say to the right wing that, instead of all the time they spend on these things, they should worry about the things that really matter to the citizens, that we manage to bring forward projects that have been waiting for a long time… This is a very intense year and not so much fighting that in the end is absurd, it does not convince people and effectively takes away a lot of energy. People want to see us working for Chile.”
The judicial investigation continues. However, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies remains in office, supported by a majority of her fellow parliamentarians.
