The Santiago Court of Appeals declared the Municipality of Santiago's appeal for annulment abandoned because no municipal lawyer appeared for oral arguments on October 7, according to BioBioChile. This leaves standing the ruling over the politically motivated dismissal of a former employee who is a member of the Communist Party (PC).
The ruling the municipality sought to overturn was issued by Santiago's First Labor Court on July 27, 2026. The court upheld a claim against the municipality for violations of fundamental rights in the workplace.
According to the ruling, which BioBioChile obtained, the decision to revoke the renewal of the employee's contract for 2025 "constituted a discriminatory act based on her political opinion and party membership".
According to the lawsuit, the woman worked in the municipality's Health Directorate between July 1 and December 31, 2024. She served as a social worker and coordinator of the Occupational Health and Risk Prevention Department. She has been a PC member since February 22, 2017.
On November 13, 2024, the administration of then-Mayor Irací Hassler (PC) issued a decree extending the fixed-term contracts of the plaintiff and 257 other employees through the end of 2025.
After current Mayor Mario Desbordes, formerly of National Renewal (RN), took office, the municipality issued another decree on December 28, 2024. That document revoked the contract extensions of the former employee and 25 other people who had participated in Hassler's reelection campaign.
The court ordered the municipality to pay special compensation of $15,914,424, equivalent to six months' pay. Added to that are court costs set at $800 thousand.
BioBioChile contacted the Municipality of Santiago for its position on the case. As of the publication of that outlet's report, the municipality had not responded.
