President José Antonio Kast on Wednesday challenged the deputies who voted against the report on the Reglas del Uso de la Fuerza (RUF, rules on the use of force). He spoke at the opening of the Escuela Jorge Valenzuela Zúñiga, a school in Puntalavapie, in the province of Arauco, Región del Biobío (Biobío Region).
According to La Tercera, the Cámara de Diputados (Chile's lower house) approved the report of the Comisión Mixta (joint committee) with 111 votes in favor, 23 against and five abstentions. The votes against came from the Partido Comunista (Communist Party) and the Frente Amplio (a left-wing coalition).
The RUF set the criteria under which Carabineros (Chile's national police), the PDI (investigative police) and the Armed Forces may use force in their operations. The Comisión Mixta, made up of deputies and senators, is formed to resolve differences between the two chambers on a bill.
"I hope that those 23 people who voted against the Rules on the Use of Force will reconsider that, going forward, these laws are important to give security to our police and our Armed Forces," the President said.
Kast also thanked lawmakers for the unanimous approval of the bill on flagrancy. He then asked: "How are we going to ask the Armed Forces to go out and defend us if there are no clear rules on the use of force?"
The speech had a personal backdrop. That same morning, the President attended the funeral of a Carabineros senior non-commissioned officer killed on Sunday. According to Emol, Kast said he embraced the officer's parents, his wife and his brother, who is also a carabinero.
From there, he called on Congress to "legislate outside the trenches, but thinking about restoring security in our nation." He added that the country must work for security just as it does for education.
The President also referred to the budget being debated in Parliament. "Resources are scarce. We are at a complex moment for our nation. We have to rethink things," he said, and called for a debate "based on common ground" that also includes the private sector.
The bill continued its passage that same day. According to Emol, the Senado (Chile's upper house) later approved the Comisión Mixta report by 29 votes in favor, 15 against and one abstention, which means Congress has passed the initiative.
