Senator Paulina Vodanovic, president of the Partido Socialista (PS, Socialist Party), harshly criticized José Antonio Kast's government on Wednesday. "There have always been lame ducks, but a lame duck six months into a government, I had never seen that", she said.
She made the remarks on the program "Me enteré por la prensa" on T13 en Vivo. "Lame duck" ("pato cojo") is a political expression for a leader whose power or influence has declined noticeably. It usually applies to the end of a term, not the beginning.
The senator tied her criticism to the budget debate. "We are not going to lose our way or our focus on defending people's rights, because this is a critical moment. In this budget we have seen important items being reduced", she said. She did not specify which line items she considers affected. The source also does not include a response from the Executive to her remarks.
The second front was security. After the reform on that issue was dropped, a new bill emerged in the Senado (Senate, Chile's upper house) that adds a "preventive" form of the state of emergency. Vodanovic said the government never discussed the initiative with her party.
According to her account, the idea came from senators Squella and Longton, members of the committee, and reached her "via Pedro Araya on WhatsApp". "Therefore I do not support the underlying idea", she said.
Her objection is constitutional in substance. "A constitutional state of exception means interrupting constitutional guarantees", she said. She added that organized crime is not solved "by adding a phrase to the Constitution, that is something semantic".
Security Minister Martín Arrau has argued that the bill does not suspend guarantees and would be similar to the current state of emergency. Vodanovic replied that if it is the same, "it is not clear why a bill that modifies it is being introduced". She also warned that suspending rights requires "a well-founded and proven reason", not a "just in case" logic.
The senator defended her record on the issue. She noted that she is the author of the Ley Antiterrorista (Anti-Terrorism Law) and has supported every security bill. "I have no reason to go around proving my innocence", she said.
In the same interview she addressed the gesture by former President Michelle Bachelet, who that day opened the door to a third presidential candidacy. Vodanovic highlighted that Bachelet brought the Communist Party into her second government with the Nueva Mayoría coalition. However, she said she has not spoken with her and that it is not the right time to debate candidacies.
For the opposition, the calculation is twofold. The PS seeks to establish the idea of a weakened government while avoiding getting ahead of the presidential race. Vodanovic announced that she will study the security bill in the Senate's Comisión de Constitución (Constitution Committee) before taking a final position.
