Sebastián Piñera will make the third withdrawal of pension funds after the Constitutional Court rejected his challenge to the project

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced on Tuesday that will ratify the bill authorizing a third 10% withdrawal from private pension funds, after the Constitutional Court rejected the challenge presented by his government.

“As a government, we respect and accept the decision of the Constitutional Court, without prejudice to not sharing. For these reasons, today we will adopt the reform approved by Congress, ”announced the President.

A few hours earlier, and 7 votes for and 3 against, the Court refused to accept the treatment of the appeal of unconstitutionality that the executive had introduced under the argument that the measure would mortgage future pensions and leave nearly 5 million people without funds.

The Court did not give the reasons for the decision, but before the start of the session of this sea one of its judges, Iván ArósticaHe commented on some of the arguments that would be considered. “Very important situations have occurred between December 30 and today. There are changes not only in factual situations; The health measures have worsened, there are resolutions, there are laws and there is the judgment of the Constitutional Court itself ”, declared the magistrate, who contrary to the previous judgment, voted on Tuesday against the protest request presented by the Piñera government.

Following the court ruling, the project – the third of its kind since the pandemic began last year – remains on hold pending its enactment or veto from the Chilean president, who pleads for give the green light to an alternative project, which includes some modifications.

For the deputy Raúl Soto, of the Social Democratic Party for Democracy (PPD), the leader “shot himself in the feet and committed a historical error out of stubbornness and whim”.

“We call on the president to enact it without further excuse or delay. Families are waiting, ”the Communist deputy asked on Twitter. Camila Rojas.

The official assistant Eduardo Duran, from Renovación Nacional (RN, right), for his part admitted that the court ruling “leaves the government in a very complex situation”.

The left-wing opposition and part of the ruling party allege that withdrawals from pension funds are necessary because the $ 18 billion announced by the government for social assistance is insufficient and “does not reach the people”., which faces serious financial difficulties due to the lockdowns.

To date, the 11 million affiliates of the Chilean private pension system have withdrawn more than $ 36 billion thanks to similar projects approved last July and December, amid the first peak of the pandemic, which already leaves 1, 17 million infected and more than 26,000 dead.

Despite being against the third withdrawal and having appealed to the Constitutional Court, Piñera announced on Sunday an alternative plan that includes paying taxes for the richest contributors and a bonus of $ 280 for the 3 million people who have been left without pensions with the former retirees.

The executive also proposed a 2% increase in contributions, by the state (1%) and the employer (1%), as a mechanism for restoring funds to strengthen future pensions, a proposal widely criticized by the opposition which denounces a disguise recapitalization of the private companies which manage the funds.

Piñera, whose approval fell to 9% this week due to his rejection of the third withdrawal, summoned his cabinet urgently after the decision of the Constitutional Court, which blocked a second withdrawal and accepted another alternative project then proposed by the executive, which used a political strategy similar to that of today.

“I call on the government to embrace and advance the positive aspects of its project that were not envisioned in the bill which is more in force today than ever and which was approved by Congress last week.” , added the former minister and presidential candidate of RN, Mario overflows.

More and more voices are calling for a change in the current pension system, set up by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), a pioneer in the region in the implementation of individual capitalization and criticized for pensions pyrrhics he offers.

Before the court ruling, workers at several Chilean ports declared themselves unemployed and put up barricades at the entrance to the terminals on Tuesday to protest the government’s decision to block the project approved last week by Congress. The protests began Monday afternoon in the port of Valparaíso (center), but on Tuesday they spread to other terminals such as Iquique (north), Antofagasta (center) and San Antonio (center).

According to the Chilean Port Union, the strike is supported by its more than 8,000 affiliated workers in 25 terminals across the country and will last until April 30, at a time when associations from other sectors called for a national strike to pressure for the new withdrawal, the third since the start of the pandemic.

With information from EFE

KEEP READING: