Government Spokesperson Ricardo Lagos-Weber, explains away in the hot political summer
The political temperature at the beginning of 2007 is high as is the temperature this summer; this due to political charges of corruption from the opposition to the government, a government official resigns in disgrace, a right-wing politician who claims to fight for rectitude is found to have lied in his CV, and the polls continue to show an overwhelming support for President Michelle Bachelet. Not to mention the morning after pill controversy created by conservative groups, the Catholic Church and the so-called right to life groups.
Corruption charges
The centre-left Concertación Government faces corruption charges in the handling of public funds allocated to the Department of Sport, that were allegedly diverted to the 2005 parliamentary and presidential elections. Political operatives inside the Department of Sport face charges of misappropriation of funds.
In another story, two Centre-left House Representatives face corruption charges emanating from the 2005 election. It is alleged Party for Democracy (PPD) Representatives Rodrigo González and Laura Soto for the twin cities of Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, are accused of diverting public make work project funds directed to out of work low-income workers in exchange of votes for work.
Another case is a scam that involves the use of fake invoices by three candidates to justify VAT Tax deduction. The scam involves a shell company, Publicam, that sold invoices to firms that wanted to skirt paying the VAT they collected. Publicam was found out after PPD Senator Guido Girardi, losing right-wing RN candidate for the Senate Lily Pérez and right-wing Alliance Presidential candidate Sebastián Piñera used the Publicam invoices to justify expenses. All three are under investigation; as are under arrest pending trial the Publicam “owners.”
What is in a CV
Catalina Depassier resigned her post this week as the head of Chile’s Department of Sport after it was found out she lied in her CV. In the government web site it said, Depassier had a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, when in fact she only had university courses in philosophy.
However, that case, although serious is not the only one. The previously named Piñera put in his résumé that when he obtained his Ph.D. in economy from Harvard University, he wrote he obtained the highest grade of his Ph.D. class, and that he was an economics professor at Harvard. Piñera was found out lying when blogger Roberto Castillo, a Harvard Ph.D. graduate, inquired at Harvard’s Registrar’s office. Castillo was told Ph.D. in economics does not rank its students and that Piñera was only a simple T.A. (Teaching Assistant), not a member of the faculty and that he never taught a course at Harvard as Piñera claimed in his CV.
Castillo also found out that right-wing RN Representative Nicolas Monckeberg also lied in his CV. Monckeberg who outed Depassier, wrote in his résumé that he had a Masters’ Degree in Political Science from Harvard University. Castillo charged in his blog that Monckeberg only had Master of Liberal Arts from Harvard Extension School. As soon as he was found out and reported this week by Castillo, Monckeberg changed his information on his web site, and Library of Congress web site.
Monckeberg before
Monckeberg after
Monckeberg can be accused of being cynical for applying one standard to others, while he fails to be fully transparent, because he also lied as Castillo proved, forcing the moralist crusading RN parliamentarian to correct his résumé.
Polling to the top
After a tepid start, President Michelle Bachelet has found her rhythm and the public has began to understand her leadership style. Bachelet is riding high on the polls. Four polls released in the first week of the new year, Bachelet is over the 50 percent mark. The respected right-wing think tank CEP poll, gives Bachelet 52 percent approval. The social democrat linked CERC poll places Bachelet at 54 percent, the same approval rating found in the far right Adimark think tank poll.
As Bachelet and her government rides high in the polls, her governing Concertación coalition hovers around the 26 to 28 percent approval rating, and a high rejection rate near the 50 percent mark. The right-wing Alliance has been unable to gain on the corruption scandals that are plaguing the Concertación coalition, it has failed to put forward a concept of what is its indentity, and it has failed to put forward a vision for the country, getting only 22 to 24 percent approval rating and 46-48 percent rejection from the electorate.
To put an end to all potential future corruption President Bachelet unvailed a Government transparency agenda, that according to Bachelet "leads to a more efficient, clean Government, and political objective that puts people at the centre."
And more round for the morning after pill
To continue the hot debate, the distribution of the morning after pill was stopped after the Constitutional Court ruled the Ministry of Health decree lacked constitutionality. The decision forced the government to either suspend the distribution or issue a Presidential decree. The Bachelet administration opted to distribute the pill with the forced of a Presidential Decree. Initially the morning after pill was issued at all public health facilities to girls 14 year-old and up without the consent of their parents. Conservative groups in society, the Catholic Church, and so-called right to life groups appealed to the Constitutional Court that controversially ruled in their favour. Once the Presidential Decree is published in the Government Gazette the pill can again be distributed in all public health hospitals and clinics. So-called Right to life groups are waiting for the Presidential Decree to launch another challenge to the Constitutional Court, this time charging the decree violates the Constitution’s right to life protection that says, life begins at from the point of conception. The so-called right to life groups argue the morning after pill causes abortion.
