According to Emol, the presidents of the governing parties signed a joint statement this week marking seven years since the social uprising (estallido social), an anniversary that falls this Sunday. The text led to conflicting accounts between the UDI (Unión Demócrata Independiente, a right-wing party) and the Partido Nacional Libertario (PNL), along with sharp criticism from the opposition.
The document is titled "Chile without violence: a commitment to peace". It was signed by Arturo Squella (Partido Republicano), Andrea Balladares (RN, Renovación Nacional), Luciano Cruz-Coke (Evópoli) and Guillermo Ramírez (UDI). The secretary general of Demócratas, Carlos Maldonado, and congresswoman Sara Concha, on behalf of the Partido Cristiano de Chile, also signed.
In the statement, the governing coalition argues that 18-O opened a period marked by violence, economic decline and insecurity. It says no cause justifies those events and accuses political sectors of having backed and even celebrated them. "We will not allow Chile to return to the logic of October 2019", the text says.
The PNL, led by congressman Johannes Kaiser, is not among the signatories. The party is not part of the Government, although it strongly opposed what happened in 2019. It was also part of the 62% that voted Rechazo (Reject) in the constitutional plebiscite of September 4, 2022. According to El Mercurio, cited by Emol, the UDI sought to bring that same bloc together.
The accounts of the invitation do not match. Ramírez said the UDI invited the PNL and that "they declined". His party says it sent the text to Kaiser, tried unsuccessfully to call him, and ultimately received a "no" from Jorge Marchant, an adviser to the PNL.
Kaiser gives a different account. He said his party received the document, but not an official invitation for Friday. "It was a lack of coordination between the parties", he said.
In the opposition, the criticism targeted several fronts. Congressman Marcos Ilabaca (PS, Partido Socialista) questioned the governing coalition for condemning violence while pushing pardons for members of the security forces convicted of crimes during the uprising. He described presidential pardons as "a monarchical holdover".
His fellow caucus member César Valenzuela (PS) played down the text. In his view, the right should focus on unemployment, the security crisis and the economy, not on common-sense statements about events from seven years ago.
In the Frente Amplio (FA), party president Gael Yeomans said on Teletrece Noche that violence is not valid, especially when democracy must prevail. However, she called for not losing sensitivity toward society.
Congresswoman Lorena Fries (FA) called the letter "absolutely biased". She criticized it for not mentioning human rights violations or those who demonstrated peacefully and condemned the violence.
Congressman Jaime Bassa (FA) defended the commemoration. He recalled the millions who mobilized for health, education, work, housing and social security. According to Bassa, as long as those demands remain unmet, it will be difficult to have social peace. The anniversary falls this Sunday, October 18.
