The latest survey developed by Cadem reflects that 72 percent of the Chilean population is against the pardons granted by the president, Gabriel Boric, to more than a dozen protesters arrested in the framework of the social outburst of November 2019.
Thus, 43 percent of those polled consider that those pardons where there are additional antecedents to those of the social outburst should be revoked, while 37 percent consider that all of them should be revoked, regardless of whether there are antecedents or not, reports T13.
On the contrary, 17 percent of Chileans would be in favor of maintaining the pardons granted by Boric, which have generated uneasiness both in the opposition and at social level. In fact, this controversy has already claimed the position of the Minister of Justice, Marcela Ríos, and also that of Matías Meza-Lopehandía as Chief of Cabinet.
Beyond the demonstrators, the Government also granted pardon to the ex-guerrilla of the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR) Jorge Mateluna, whose pardon has even less support. Eighty-one percent of those polled are against his pardon.
Finally, the report also includes data on support for Boric’s presidency. According to Cadem data, 70 percent of those polled disapprove of the President’s administration, while 25 percent support him.
At the end of 2022, President Boric granted a series of pardons that from the very first moment generated controversy and criticism from the opposition, which intensified after verifying that one of the main premises had not been fulfilled in the pardon process: that the beneficiary had no previous record.
Thus, the Government granted the pardon to more than a dozen demonstrators, including Luis Castillo, who had previously been convicted of five common crimes between 2005 and 2017, according to the Chilean press.
The Chilean government then acknowledged a series of «irregularities» that resulted in the departures of Ríos and Meza-Lopehandía. Boric himself then came out to recognize that when this type of situation occurs, «responsibilities» must be «assumed».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
