Interior Undersecretary Máximo Pavez responded on Friday to criticism from former presidents Gabriel Boric and Michelle Bachelet. "Chileans have far more urgent concerns than political disputes between the government and former presidents," he said during a press briefing at La Moneda.
According to T13, the former presidents' remarks followed their meeting on Thursday with opposition leaders at the Horizonte Ciudadano foundation, created by Bachelet.
Boric took aim at Economy and Mining Minister Daniel Mas, who blamed the previous government for the decline in the AFPs' (pension fund administrators) Fund E. That fund, the most conservative in the system, fell 4.92% in September. "Going around blaming someone else builds nothing, solves nothing, evades responsibility and erodes trust," the former president said.
Bachelet focused on the economy. "The economy will grow little, inflation is high, wages are not rising, and the cost of living and food prices are going up," she said.
Pavez said the government tries to avoid commenting on former presidents' remarks. However, he asked the opposition to "develop proposals" and join security agreements. He also asked it to abandon "in some cases, obstructionism."
The undersecretary also defended President José Antonio Kast's record on security, migration and investment. He said that seven months into the government, the numbers "speak for themselves" compared with the previous administration. He did not provide figures.
Socialist Party (PS) president Senator Paulina Vodanovic denied that the meeting had an electoral purpose. Speaking to La Tercera, she said Bachelet opened the gathering by clarifying that "it was not a meeting of two presidential candidates, but of two former presidents."
Vodanovic said the former presidents made "a call to action" and urged more work in local communities. She rejected interpreting it as a call to fall into line. She described it as concern over the government's measures and what she considers setbacks in rights.
The senator did, however, call for discipline within her political camp regarding the government's security agenda. She accused the government of a "deliberate strategy" and asked progressives to talk among themselves first and "not cross to the other side at the first siren song." "Those who choose another option will have to explain themselves," she added.
Vodanovic also rejected the constitutional security reform drafted by senators Arturo Squella (Republican), Arturo Longton (RN) and Pedro Araya (PPD). In her view, the text seeks to criminalize protest and does nothing to combat organized crime.
The exchange comes days before the seventh anniversary of the social unrest, which falls on October 18. Vodanovic called it "very serious" that Squella, president of the Republican Party, had justified the human rights violations committed during that period.
