The Servicio Electoral (Servel) rejected the 2023 and 2024 accounts of the Partido de la Gente (PDG) over undocumented expenses, including payments to party leadership of more than $100 million, according to BioBioChile. The 2025 statement is still under review.
Servel is the autonomous body that runs elections in Chile and audits party finances. Its objections also include rentals linked to former party leaders and spending on flower therapies. The party has pledged to repay those amounts.
The stakes are higher still. If Servel rejects three statements, the case goes to the Tribunal Calificador de Elecciones (Tricel), Chile's electoral court, which could even order the party dissolved.
The PDG's present stands in contrast to its origins. Franco Parisi, its founder, is an economist who became well known in Chile for explaining economic issues in simple terms. Today the party has no offices. Its leaders meet by video call or in coffee shops, and the party receives no state funding.
On top of the financial crisis, there is a legal front. Two criminal complaints target former PDG president Luis Moreno over alleged forgery of signatures and documents in the party's early days. The Fiscalía Centro Norte, the regional prosecutor's office handling the case, is also looking into possible money laundering and misuse of funds. Moreno has not been convicted and the investigation is ongoing.
The party says the investigation focuses on its former leadership and former funds administrator. According to the party, no one in the current leadership has been notified or summoned to testify.
Deputy Tamara Ramírez acknowledged it would be a mistake to ignore these difficulties, but said they "do not overshadow the leadership the caucus has today". Zandra Parisi, a deputy and the founder's sister, said the PDG is seeking a new order that strengthens the party and its presidential candidate. The crisis raises questions about a possible Parisi campaign in 2030.
The party's new president is Denisse Catalán, 26. According to Deputy Fabián Ossandón, she will be tasked with resolving outstanding issues and getting the house "in order". The PDG said it is working with Servel to address the objections and that it agreed to repay about $53 million.
