Chile: Sebastián Piñera injured by the Pandora Papers, which also impact the candidate for power Sebastián Sichel | In the eye of the storm

The latter would be divided into three quotas, the last being conditional on the State not declaring the mining company’s area of ​​operations as an environmental protection zone. What obviously influence his uncompromising position on the issue, which was appealed during the government of Michelle Bachelet and which was recently approved two months ago under his second term.

In order to limit the damage, the government issued a statement recalling that the mining company’s sale process had already been investigated in 2017 when the “Prosecutor’s Office recommended to close the case due to the non-existence of a crime, to comply with the law and the lack of participation of President Sebastián Piñera in the aforementioned operation”.

Piñera comes out to defend himself

All this was monitored by the president on the last day of his quarantine at Cerro Castillo – presidential palace located in Viña del Mar – after a tour of the continent. And although the ruling party has tried to reduce the profile of the issue, always stressing that “it has already been the subject of an investigation”, Piñera himself had to intervene at a press briefing this after. -midday.

“Since April 2009, more than 12 years ago, and before assuming my first presidency, I completely and completely detached myself from the administration and management of family businesses and any other business in which I had participated, “he said. By adding this, with his wife and children he created blind trusts for the administration of all its financial assets, “on a voluntary basis, because at the time no law required it”.

And to reinforce the above, he said: “At that time, I had no knowledge of the investment decisions of the aforementioned companies, which were and are managed by their respective boards of directors and professional administration. The objective of these decisions was to face the presidential candidacy and the future presidency, with total and absolute independence and autonomy to be able to exercise the function of President with a single objective: to defend the common good, the interest of all Chileans and always respecting the constitution and the law “.

The investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Monday revealed details of how Piñera, which has one of Chile’s largest fortunes with nearly $ 3,000 million, He transferred his businesses to his children to avoid possible conflicts of interest after arriving in La Moneda.

In documents obtained by the ICIJ, her four children acknowledge that the source of the reported assets in the British Virgin Islands is the proceeds of donations they received from their father.

This opens the question of whether taxes were paid for the transfer of this money, since living donations pay a tax of 25% in Chile.

The children’s offshore assets are said to come from the sale of Piñera’s historic businesses, such as the credit card company. Transbank, the LAN airline (now known as Latam after its merger with Brazilian Tam in 2012) or the TV channel Chilivision, Based on research.

The silence of Sichel, the official candidate

Another who had a bad weekend was Sebastien sichel, the right-wing candidate who, although independent, enjoys the support of the government parties (UDI, RN, Evópoli) and of Piñera himself. It was initially an interview with The clinic Saul Iglesias, his first father – whose last name is said to be changed – who has denied all the stories of misery and poverty that Sichel has told since he was a candidate. Sichel managed to get the situation under control by pointing out that Iglesias does not completely deny the mistreatment of his mother in the interview and by insisting that he was indeed a child damaged by his first father figure. Then come the Cadem and Pulso Ciudadano surveys which indicate that the extreme right José Antonio Kast – of the Republican party – overtook him, keeping Gabriel Boric of the I Approve Dignity coalition, made up of the Broad Front and the PC, as favorite for the presidency of Chile, the elections of which will take place on November 21.

“Regarding #PandoraPapers, citizens ask us for total transparency. And, in this case, we must go beyond what is legal and give all the necessary explanations, “he wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening. The strategy is, on the one hand, to separate from the figure of Piñera (but not of the right) and on the other hand, to let the government defend itself just to avoid being splashed by these revelations.

Candidate Yasna Provoste (DC), who represents what remains of the Concertation which governed two decades after the end of the dictatorship under the coalition of Constituent Unity, alongside the PS, the PPD and the Radical Party, among others , noted on Twitter: “Chile demands full transparency. It is inconceivable that a President of the Republic should act for his own benefit, stopping the protection of the environment in La Higuera, to secure a personal income with Minera Dominga. “The candidate, who cannot take off in the polls, added: It is the government of Sebastián Sichel. Piñera was his boss and he was his continuity. What will the candidate of La Moneda think of the Pandora Papers? Will it also take four days to respond, while waiting for the architects of its candidacy and its backers to dictate the response? ”

But the best answer came from Boric, who is enjoying his moment and also wrote via his social media: “Piñera escapes tax in tax havens, he hides information and, as always, places his personal interest above the common good. Any resemblance to their candidates is no accident ”.