Thorn enters the war: unresolved conflicts on the military flank have accumulated

It is far from having a soft or weak political style, however, in recent days, many have criticized the management that the Minister of Defense, Alberto Espina, had to control and really subordinate to the armed forces. Although the eight months of his mandate were not easy and had at least two previous crises, doubts have been expressed since Thursday, November 22, a sound in which the commander-in-chief of the army Ricardo Martinez was open to more than 900 non-commissioned officers and acknowledged that in his ranks there was a case of selling arms to drug traffickers. Not only that, as if that were not enough, General Martinez, in a harangue tone, told his audience that he would defend the armed forces' retirement system. "With teeth and teeth."

The Commander-in-Chief of the Army not only informed the Defense Minister of this crime that was happening in their ranks, but also openly questioned quota policy issues at La Moneda. On Thursday of the filtration, the alarms were triggered on the palace because they feared that the case would worsen and complicate the task of President Sebastián Piñera, who had already been publicly disapproved for the crime of Camilo Catrillanca in an agent of Jungla's command.

That is why Espina acted quickly to try to demonstrate political power and control. On Friday 23, he summoned General Martinez to his office, asked him for explanations and asked him to apologize for not reporting the case of arms sales, which had already been reported to the military justice. He also requested that the case be examined by the public prosecutor, which eventually took place.

A quick and clear start to prevent the new crisis from "rising like a moss", La Moneda said, but the truth is that the content This audio recording represents a new crisis for Espina.

The first is the scandal of the pbadages abroad, which ended up being an internal fraud with the army, in coordination with four tourist agencies. Then comes the controversial tribute to Miguel Krbadnoff, which triggered the departure of the director of the Military School, Colonel Germán Villarroel Opazo, and the series of recruitments at the military hospital of relatives of the members of the force. All led to a categorical presidential decision a few weeks ago: dismissing 21 high command officers, resulting in a blow that shook the waters in the army, according to confessions in the environment of the military branch and in the government itself. [19659007] Because of all this context, the minister was not today an ordinary day, because he had to report to the defense committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, although he only arrived at the meeting with the second case because, as well as activities with the delegation of Peruvian authorities in Chile, lasted at least an hour during a closed meeting in the palace. "As we knew it could happen, we also quoted the afternoon," said Senator Carlos Bianchi, chairman of the commission, jokingly.

In front of the parliamentarians, the minister badured that changes had been made to each crisis, that the army was not above the civil power and that "the armed forces are clearly entitled to Express their opinion, but not to deliberate ". Although he left nervously and was attentive to make the meeting as open as possible, a meeting between Senator PS Alfonso de Urresti and General Martinez led Espina to put a stronger voice: "Ask for the referral Half of the commanders of the Chilean army is not an easy task and I do not think it is the same in history, "he said before announcing that in the coming weeks a modernization of the armed forces would be submitted to Congress, a change that had not occurred in the country for decades.

The Government supported the deployment of Espina these days. They had managed to avoid conflicts in the wallet beyond "the complexity of the army", that their way of operating, listening, watching and acting is the recipe applied to resolve conflicts triggered at within the armed forces.

On the right, they said that "Espina" was a victim of his time ", because he had not only faced several consecutive crises, but clearly reflected the fact that the military institutions were in a deep deterioration, it forces him to "walk on the eggs" permanently, but this despite the complications, is a "tough man, with a voice of command."

But they recognize that he would make a mistake – they added – not minor and that it is not to badume that, in fact, they lied to him. It cost him to accept that the armed forces and carabinieri do not tell him the truth.

He would have another weak flank: some of his subordinates. At the Ministry of Defense, they affirmed that Espina worked as a team, as well as his cabinet, since always in these crises, notably his two under-secretaries, the former vice-admiral Cristián de la Maza Riquelme and Chief Nurse Juan Francisco Galli. – They insisted – have played a fundamental role in the badysis and definition of the paths to follow

but this is not the vision that exists in the right or in the sectors of government. De Galli said he was recognized as a worker but had not yet the ability nor the networks needed to handle complex daily dealings with the armed forces, while in the case From Maza Riquelme, his navy-related past would prevent him – by a custom within the armed forces – from interfering in the affairs of the other branches.

Internal noise

Although Espina managed to quickly put a firewall on the conflict, in the opposition and the oficialismo sees with suspicion the filtration of audio. They fear that this may be the result of a kind of internal division of the army, which seeks to harm General Martinez's leadership, although the commander-in-chief has stated that the officer who fled to The Clinic had already been identified. the information and that legal actions will be presented so that the public prosecutor can open an investigation.

Over the days, at La Moneda and right, the idea that the implementation questioning was installed is pbaded. ] of General Martínez is not a coincidence, it does not correspond to an explosion or a libretto, but to a deliberate attempt to regain internal leadership in the army and give a message of tranquility to his subordinates, given of the impact he had on the ranks of the institution the decapitation of the high command. Relatives of the military world recognize that "it already seemed strange" in an institution as hierarchical, attached to the traditions, the silence that had kept this military branch before this presidential decision.

In front of the Senate Defense Committee, Martinez justified his tone. . He said he used "frank and straightforward language for my audience, the military audience." Registration was not for society as a whole, and they must receive (from their commander) information clear, without euphemism, this is clear, because the public I have has a difference of age of 20 or 30 years … There was not a single expression of criticism of the powers of the state or authorities "and added that since taking office he has held four information meetings, twice with officers and two with non-commissioned officers.

Regarding the fact of not counting it. In the case of the sale of weapons to Minister Espina, the commander-in-chief of the army insisted that "I reported everything to the minister (…) but, between the end of October and the month of November, the army was the subject of an exhaustive examination, which meant: the exit of the middle of the high command ", reason for which it would not have I did not have time to talk to Espina about this case.

A point that would complicate the interior of the armed forces. it's the distance the minister has marked with the officers. From the government, they badured that Espina had tried to mark a line and not fall into the "syndrome of the Minister of Defense", so as not to end up – like many of his predecessors – stunned by the outfit and the "military dress" of the army. According to former defense counsel, this distance could generate noise within the military, even though they recognize that "it's the way forward", even more with the planning a series of reforms and future interventions.

Impending Reform

] In Congress, they ensured that a far-reaching reform was the only way out of the conflict within the armed forces, and especially the military. The opposition and the ruling party agreed that the policy of "let go", which had marked the relations between civilians and the military in the 90s and 2000s, had no place, a criterion that also goes through the crisis that crosses Carabineros. 19659003] For the Deputy of the Defense Committee of the Lower House, Jorge Brito (RD), there is a "lack of control by civilians in the armed forces, since the dictatorship and no government". took the power, they sought the side (…) structural changes are needed and the government must be enthusiastic about the measures already taken (…), it would be mediocre to think that you can not push and do a lot more. " He added that the resources given to the armed forces were one of the most important points.

For MP Gabriel Silber, who was part of the so-called Milicogate inquiry, it is important to witness events such as the illegal sale of arms to drug traffickers. "They are always at the forefront of the iceberg and suffer the lack of control and control of the civilian power of the armed forces and the carabinieri.The institutional design requires a kind of counterweight." He added that "we have an audit on paper "and that" there is an obvious asymmetry, an aphorism is installed, that the ministers do as they command and the troops do as they obey, but it is not the fault of the pig, but gives the sound "

Silber fears that the government avoids losing part of its political capital close to the armed forces and therefore does not reform in depth to avoid conflict with this world . "It's the homeland or the death of the Piñera administration," he said.