President José Antonio Kast called on political groups on Tuesday to leave their differences for another time and move forward on security, jobs and nursery care, according to La Tercera. He spoke at the opening of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Week.
"Chile needs us united," the President said. According to the newspaper, Kast distinguished partisan disputes from issues that, in his view, require broad agreements. "We will have a time and place to discuss political issues," he said.
On nursery care, he acknowledged doubts about its funding. However, he called for agreements in the face of what he described as a complex situation in Chile and a difficult one worldwide. The source does not detail the project's estimated cost.
The appeal comes amid the executive branch's difficulties in advancing its agenda in Congress. According to La Tercera, the shift in tone has been evident for weeks, at least since the evangelical Te Deum. There, Kast spoke of correcting whatever needed correcting and listening to any political group.
The example he chose was security. Following the murder of Carabineros Corporal Cristopher Aguilera, the government withdrew the constitutional reform that would have created a new state of emergency. The proposal faced technical objections and caused disagreements even within the governing coalition.
That withdrawal opened the way for negotiations. Senator Pedro Araya (PPD), chair of the Senate Constitution Committee, became the point of contact for the legislative work. "Look at the tremendous agreement we reached, a cross-party agreement," Kast said on Tuesday.
The President also addressed a recent defeat. He lamented the rejection of the reform that would have extended the detention period for administrative deportations of migrants. "And who does that hurt if it isn't approved? The government? No, all Chileans," he said.
The same message appeared days earlier at the presentation of the Chile Despega employment plan. There, Kast described job creation as a national cause and thanked representatives of different political groups for attending.
La Tercera's report includes no responses from the opposition or governing parties to the latest appeal. The upcoming votes on nursery care and the alternative security proposal will show whether the call gains support in Congress.
