The Archi (Chilean Broadcasters Association) debate began after 8 am. The candidates met at the center of the stage to take their pictures and then took their seats awaiting the questions prepared by the journalists.
A meeting that marks the penultimate debate between Gabriel Boric (I Approve Dignity) and José Antonio Kast (Social Christian Front) prior to the second round elections, scheduled for Sunday, December 19.
such as pensions, economic growth, security, decentralization, health, programmatic changes, media law, migration; were part of the content agenda addressed. This, in parallel to the tense moments of interpellation that took place at the end of each block of questions.
Boric and life annuities
Journalist Sebastián Aguirre: You propose that a contributory system will be created under the social security system. Regarding the ownership of the funds, I quote “we will maintain the legislation on the inheritance of mandatory contributions to the social security system regarding life annuities. However, Senator Juan Ignacio Latorre (RD) points out that in a social security system there is no private property, and the CMF states that life annuities are not inheritable.
Gabriel Boric: Juan Ignacio Latorre made a mistake, he was precisely unaware of the update process we are carrying out. He was wrong, I discussed it with him and I have no problem correcting it, because what we have established is that pensions are going to be inheritable just like life annuities are today.
Aguirre: But life annuities are not inheritable...
Boric: Yes they are, in the logic of…
Aguirre: I quote a paragraph from the CMF, “the funds transferred to the CMF constitute a premium or price of the contracted rent that becomes your property, therefore, upon death of the insured, the income ends without generating an inheritance”.
Boric: We can review that and people can reply later. Today, life annuities generate income based on what is saved and the premium that was previously saved.
Aguirre: This is a specific modality for which you have to pay a premium, because it constitutes insurance.
Boric: That is the specific modality that will be in the system that we are proposing.
Aguirre: In the future system, do you have to pay a premium to make it inheritable?
Boric: You wouldn't have to pay a premium, without decreasing your future pension. The important thing is that today we have a system that does not give decent pensions, so keeping it as it is does not give us the width. We propose a new social security system that ensures decent pensions. We are talking about a solidarity system where ownership of the funds is established.
Kast and powers of the President in a state of emergency
Journalist Ramón Ulloa: “The program is not written in stone”, is a phrase he used a lot to open his program to new ideas, and to be fair he removed a lot of points. But there is one that is written differently, but points to the same thing. You insist that it is necessary for the President to have more powers to limit people's freedom, now you are talking about a qualified state of emergency. Is this a fifth figure or a State of Emergency 2.0? Are not those that are already enough?
José Antonio Kast: First, say that it is a constitutional reform and it is a proposal that we want to make to Congress, and if it is not accepted it will never enter into force, but it is a modification in the State of Exception when we have a serious situation within the country. But it maintains the same powers that the states of exception have, complementing with some that had less.
Ulloa: But it is about limiting people's freedom without invoking more burdensome figures such as the state of siege or assembly. What it says in the proposal is that with this figure, the President can have all the powers that the other states of exception give him. Is not too much?
Kast: It may be that legislators feel that it is excessive, but given the circumstances that we have had to live with terrorism, extreme violence and destruction. It is necessary to be effective in the response.
Ulloa: The powers are quite broad. What you propose is that the President, without invoking more restrictive states of emergency, can order, intercept, open documents and all kinds of communications, and arrest people in places other than jails.
Kast: That's right.
Ulloa: Is that okay with you?
Kast: Yes
Ulloa: Arresting people in places other than prisons is what the DINA and the CNI did.
Kast: Today it is contemplated in the state of exception and is added to others, but I insist, it is added to others. This goes through Congress and if today we are in a critical situation, it is feasible that the President requests an extension of powers.
Boric and cancellation of the CAE for 20 years
Ramón Ulloa: You propose the cancellation of student debts, there are solidarity funds, CORFO loans, but by far more expensive is to end with the CAE. It is $8 billion dollars, 10% of the nation's funds. If we did a successful tax reform we could spend all the money on that. You have been quick to respond to that criticism by pointing out that the debt will be paid not using new income, but through a scheme of long-term payments. You will pay in your term or commit future presidents.
Boric: Before answering the question, I'd like to point out two comments that candidate Kast has made: tax cuts for large corporations and the possibility of arresting people in places other than jails. It seems to me that this speaks volumes about the differences we have with the candidacies. Having said that, we propose the progressive cancellation of the CAE, the solidarity fund and CORFO. And what we are proposing is that every state has a long-term policy, states do not reinvent themselves every four years. An important part of the CAE is already assumed by the State, and what we propose is to pay it over 20 years to lighten that tremendous backpack that thousands of students carry, as a result of the decision to do business here for the banks and that today they are a burden for the families.
Ulloa: 20 years, $200 million more or less a year.
Boric: Without 20 years to have a reasonable payment without it being an unfeasible payment for the State.
Ulloa: What about those who have already paid?
Boric: The vast majority of students have not yet finished paying the CAE, I remind you that many times the CAE fees reach 200 installments.
Ulloa: 60 thousand have already paid their debt, 500 thousand remain.
Boric: It is perfectly understood, and I have no doubt, that there will be solidarity criteria because the difficulty of paying the CAE is a tremendous burden for the family.
Ulloa: Isn't that unfair to other groups of debtors?
Boric: Every proposal has alternative costs, and we must be able to prioritize. We believe that the educational debts that have affected thousands of families in Chile is a moral debt that we have with Chilean families , and therefore, we are interested in solving it.
Kast's programmatic changes
Ramón Ulloa: Mr. Kast, since your program has shrunk and now has 55 pages, one understands that what is not there is no longer there . Let's see if we clarify doubts. "We will repeal the law that goes against abortion."
Kast: What I have made is that I am a deeply democratic person, and if there is a substantial majority that makes a law, that law will be respected.
Ulloa: “Break off relations with Cuba and Venezuela.” Since that is no longer there, I assume that we will continue to have embassies in both countries.
Kast: No, it is going to continue with the same force that we have to prioritize democracy and end dictatorships in Venezuela and Cuba. We will maintain consular relations and not embassies. We made a government plan, but most of the measures are contained.
Ulloa: “We will withdraw Chile from the UN Security Council”
Kast: We have been evaluating why we are saying that there are Cuba and Venezuela, two countries that have violated human rights, and we do not think that these countries have anything to say at a table on human rights.
Ulloa: “Term of functions of FLACSO in Chile”
Kast: We are going to enforce all the requirements and corresponding payments for the stay in the nation.
Ulloa: We propose subsidizing health plans for married couples so that they are cheaper than individual ones. Fixed because it no longer depends on the marital situation.
Kast: That's right.
Ulloa: "We will coordinate internationally with other Latin American governments to arrest and try leftist agitators."
Kast: We have reassessed it and we want to add any agitator or who carries out terrorist actions and we believe that there should be integration between the international police to stop those who cause harm to people's lives.
Ulloa: Taking me from your words, you said that I should debate Boric in the first round. I take your words, here Is it also necessary to debate between the Kast of the first and second round?
Kast: Not because there's a line of continuity here. I have never wanted to dress up as a police officer, I listen to my advisors. Here there is continuity and coherence. Boric does not listen to his advisers.
Boric and water rights
Journalist Jessica Castañeda: Chile is going through a mega-drought, the central zone has shown deficiencies in terms of rainfall, we have a deficit of more than 70 % that is considered abnormal. In your eventual government, how will water resources be managed and how will a long-term view be given?
Boric: Great question. The water crisis is one of the most heartbreaking, and one of the first measures that we are going to take will be the creation of an emergency water committee because it is not only an issue in the central zone, but also in the north and south. In the north they use desalination plants, and in the south there are areas without water. (...) There are people who have to choose between washing clothes, washing dishes or taking a shower, because the water from the cistern trucks simply does not reach them. So we have two serious problems: drought and looting. And we have to take care of both. For the drought we need international collaboration and convince the governments that pollute the most that they have to get their act together and we move forward, for example, in decarbonization.
Castañeda: What is the emergency water committee? Is it like the central bank?
Boric: It is an institution that seeks to distribute the resources we have today in a better way, and where we see that there is a blockage of water, like in Petorca, where the avocado crops prevent there from being water in schools, it is a matter that we are going to have to untie and if that implies taking away water rights so that the population can be, we are going to move in that direction.
Castañeda: Who will make up this committee?
Boric: We are going to define it, the best experts in the field, it will be transversal, and also by the affected communities.
Kast and salary cuts for senior officials
Aguirre: He talks about efficiency in the State. He talks about eliminating spending in the public sector, he proposed reducing the number of ministries. Which ones will you delete or merge?
Kast: Well, we're seeing more of the merger of ministries, rather than the removal, which has never been an idea. In the case of National Assets with Housing, we have seen that today the merger of Mining with Energy works well, and thus we will go looking for other ministries that we can merge to reduce the size of the State.
Aguirre: What are the criteria?
Kast: To the extent that there is complementarity of functions, such as national assets with land and minvu with buildings. There is a positive synergy there.
Aguirre: Are these issues that do not merit ministries?
Kast: No, we want a bi-minister, as is the case today for Energy and Mining.
Aguirre: How much is saved with these mergers?
Kast: More than what can be saved, it is giving a signal like the cut in the President's salary by half, and the high salaries of government officials. We want all the government to have a look of austerity and efficiency and put people at the center.
Aguirre: You have also had political operators, do you have an estimate of the number of political operators?
Kast: We are analyzing. A specific case is the Ovalle Hospital, where there are 13 risk preventionists, 3 lawyers and 3 journalists. And in Conaf more than 20 journalists.
Aguirre: But how do you differentiate between a political operator and an official?
Kast: If you could explain to me why they have to have 13 preventionists, 3 lawyers and 3 journalists in a hospital, I would appreciate it, I can't understand it. Each one must fulfill and inform the functions that it fulfills. We are going to be very demanding.
Boric and the Media Law
Journalist Roberto Silva (Quillota): Getting up the concerns of various radio broadcasters, what will happen to the radio concessions if you are President? How will the public media system that is on your show affect freedom of expression?
Boric: As a candidate from the regions, raised in Magallanes, I understand the importance of the regional media, they are the ones who tell us every day what does not reach the provinces. (...) Therefore, the regional media, both web, radio, and written, are essential. We are going to respect the concessions, because we know that many times family investment provides jobs, and because the distribution of resources is not equitable. More resources are required for regional media for greater diversity, and that is tremendously important. That being said, the regional media do a very commendable job. Count on us not only to maintain the concessions, but also so that the publicity cake is distributed in a better way.
Silva: The national media system…
Boric: Regarding the national media system, we firmly believe in freedom of expression, that the press has to make power uncomfortable, and although sometimes one feels cornered or that the questions are very difficult, in good time, that's what the press is for. We propose a public media ecosystem that competes with the private, not crushes it. We are never going to intervene in the freedom of expression that is the mainstay of democracy.
Boric and Kast's positions on a rail network and truckers
Ulloa: The tremendous factual power that truckers have developed has to be faced with the construction of a train system for Chile, you said in a debate at the University of Chile. Candidate, did you consider yourself warned that the truckers will be a stumbling block in that intention?
Boric: I heard the statements of the leader of the truckers from the same Moneda. But let me say something first, it's good that José Antonio Kast is in favor of lowering high salaries, because as parliamentarians he voted against it in the Chamber. It is a breakthrough that he has changed his position.
Kast: A precision, I ask the moderator to explain that the replicas are at the end of each block. If it can be used in a different way, I ask the moderator to clarify it so that I can also do the same.
Boric: Don't be nervous. We heard the statement from the trucker leaders from La Moneda, and I want to tell that leader that he be calm, that the combination and increase of trains in Chile will be for the better. And here we are not going to accept blackmail of any kind. Today, given all the possibilities to have a rail network to connect highly saturated parts of the country, only 5% move cargo and 1% passengers. There are feasibility sections such as Santiago-San Antonio, or Santiago-Valparaíso, and northern regions.
Ulloa: You gave as an example a train that linked Antofagasta-Copiapó, it sounds nice, but engineers like Franco Basso said it would be a disaster, that densities and social profitability do not give. That does not sell smoke.
Boric: I would really like a train that crosses the desert, of course we are going to study it based on feasibility and profitability to carry it forward. But this social profitability that Basso refers to, is the same that did not allow having an oncologist in Magallanes, because they say "it does not have enough inhabitants." And in sparsely populated places, one of the main problems is centralism. We must advance in delivering services to the regions and it is not a matter of social profitability, it is a matter of rights that our government will ensure.
Ulloa: To finance social demands, resources are needed. According to SII calculations, $88 million could be raised if the diesel exemption for truckers ends.
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Boric: We are going to move in that direction and we are not going to allow blackmail of any kind, regarding public policies that, by the way, are going to be discussed with all the actors and I have no doubt that We are going to reach agreements.
***
Journalist Constanza Stipicic: You also aspire to build trains, talk about electric trains and promote other forms of cargo transportation, would you change the rules of the trucking game? Given the relative benefits they enjoy. Would diesel go up to truckers?
Kast: No, because it brings a benefit to consumers. And yes, I agree with the approach trains in Santiago-Lampa, Santiago-Melipilla, Santiago-Valparaíso, Coquimbo-La Serena….
Stipicic: Would you not change the rules that allow you to recover 80% of the tax they pay, which is also low?
Kast: We should go along the lines of eliminating some exemptions, but on the issue of truckers I disagree.
Stipicic: So what would you do to have real competition for trains or boats, in a market dominated by truckers?
Kast: There is a whole debate on cabotage, in that just as we open the skies, we have to think that in cabotage there should be rules that allow for greater competition.
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Stipicic: Truckers are known to be opposed and have lobbied against
Kast: We have to sit down and talk about the advantages, I'm interested in users having an advantage and having a large number of entrepreneurs.
Stipicic: Would you be willing to subsidize?
Kast: We first proposed the approaching trains to improve the quality of life of people that has been destroyed by the public transport that the Concertación implemented, today we need quality public transport, which today does not exist, and to that we have to add electromobility.
Stipicic: It wouldn't change the conditions for truckers at all, but it could subsidize competitors
Kast: More than subsidizing, the initial investment must be assumed by the state and be profitable over time.
Kast and the Convention
Journalist Nicolás Vergara: Whether you become President or if you are defeated, you will have a very fundamental role regarding the exit plebiscite. If you are President, are you willing to lead the opposition to the approval of the Plebiscite to exit the proposed Constitution, do you not contribute, do you not meet the requirements that you establish? What role would you assume in that case?
Kast: “The first role is dialogue. If I have the honor of leading the nation, the first thing I will do is create dialogue tables with the Convention and facilitate all the work for them, be it technological, economic, or consultancies so that within the period established by law they can do a presentation of a new Constitution. We are interested in closing the chapter on the new Constitution. I voted against the process as it was established, I believed that the changes should be made within the institutional system, but the citizens opted for something different. And I hope they live up to what the public wants. Unfortunately, due to certain facts of a different nature, they have been discredited. I hope that they will be recognized by the public again, that they draw up a good plan and that we can lead the approval of this new Constitution to close the chapter and achieve stability and the possibility of investment in Chile again. If this is not the case, clearly I am not going to be a supporter, if they did not respect the right to free expression, freedom of worship, education, merit, private property, I would lead within the legal frameworks authorized by the Comptroller as much as possible so that this is rejected, complying with all the requirements for democracy to be fulfilled”
Vergara: Can you be a guarantor? Can you play the double role, be a guarantor and an opponent?
Kast: Absolutely. Yes, I can express my opinion and if I do not violate any of the rules that we will previously consult the Comptroller what things can be done or not or what things can be stated by the President. I hope that we can approve the new Constitution in the shortest possible time to close the chapter. If it is not the Constitution that all Chileans expect, I hope to be able to express my opinion forcefully.
Vergara: Are you willing to present a bill that would extend the mandate of the Convention if it asks you to?
Kast: I don't think it's necessary because they have enough time. I hope they don't ask for it, because clearly they have a commitment to fulfill and that all Chileans are waiting for.
Vergara: And if they ask you, will you say no?
Kast: That's for Congress to decide.
Boric and Carabineros reform
Octavia Rivas Question: Candidate, I invite you to talk about the Carabineros and the reform, refounding that you propose in your program. How many Carabineros are currently in Chile?
Boric: Do you know?
Rivas: Yes.
Boric: Why don't you tell?
Rivas: No, I want to know if you handle the figure. I have no problem telling him.
Boric: I think it's not about finding out if you can Google how many there are. What is the question?
Rivas: But I'll give you the data: 58,000 according to the latest information from 2018 published by Paz Ciudadana. Of those 58 thousand, how many more are needed?
Boric: Look, in each neighborhood that we go, what they tell us is that more police officers are needed. What we have raised and in fact one of the problems we have is that as a result of the serious cases that shook the institution today, enrollment dropped significantly, due to the interest in being a Carabinero. Carabineros has three main problems today: One, are the serious cases of violation of human rights, that we are going to risk for justice, truth, reparation and non-repetition and I have no doubt that the majority of the institution is in the same Secondly, the serious cases of corruption that embarrass the institution. The majority of the Carabineros who are honest people, who are in the most remote sectors of Chile, are ashamed of that sector of the High Command that engaged in corrupt practices. And thirdly, which I think is what matters most to people, is the lack of effectiveness of police action. Today close to 90% of the crimes that are reported come to nothing. So, we have to improve our police, redistribute them in a better way, because I don't know if you know that in San Bernardo there are the same number of Carabineros as in Vitacura, having a population three times greater.
Rivas: And how is the staffing increase achieved? Generating more jobs and calling for more young people to become police officers or redistributing and taking away Vitacura or Providencia, which have the largest number and transferring them to other communes.
Boric: It has to be both. We have to have an attractive career. We have raised the importance of modifying the Carabineros career, but we also have to redistribute in a better way towards the sectors where today there is more insecurity. It cannot be that there are more Carabineros per capita in places where there is more income, but in places where there are more crimes there are fewer.
Rivas: That was precisely explained to me in part of all the analyzes that have been done, it has to do with the number of crimes that are recorded and the floating population, more than the number of inhabitants and it is the institution itself that defines the amount.
Boric: it's not the institution that should define that. It should be defined by a security committee from the Ministry of the Interior in conjunction with the mayors, because they are the ones who best know what is happening. Today in the neighborhoods they know where the drug dealers are, they know where the fireworks go off, they know where the vendettas take place, however, neither the prosecutor's office nor the police are able to get there.
Rivas: He wants to eliminate the double rank of officers and non-commissioned officers, and leave or maintain it as it is
Boric: We believe that we must move towards a single level, but we are willing to talk with the institution.
Kast and trenches as a measure against the migratory crisis
Journalist Eduardo Guyanas: Do you propose to continue with the idea of trenches...how many kilometers does your proposal correspond to? ditch and what is the total cost of this considering that your proposal talks about surveillance and technological support?
Kast: They are the ditches in that territory, not including the corresponding bars so that animals and people do not fall into it, it costs about 10 million dollars and we have calculated that in the ditch 3 meters deep by 3 meters wide with the entire earthen hill included to make a barrier on one side of the ditch.
Guianas: And does that consider maintenance?
Kast: No, that considers making the ditch. In maintenance, you also have to consider that the number of personnel you require will be less because today the containment has to be done man to man, which is not at all desirable if it has to be a soldier or a police officer who face the foreign citizen who wants to enter Chile. The strip makes sense to lead people to an authorized crossing and to this day there is still drug trafficking and vehicle smuggling because this is still a plateau.
Guianas: They have put sacks in the ditches and people pass...
Kast: Yes, because the ditch, like many of the things that Michelle Bachelet did, was a good initiative and poorly executed.
Guianas: Because there was no maintenance, that is, that's why I asked about maintenance...
Kast: Because it was not done properly and clearly if you make a trench you have to maintain it, and if you want to make the trench practical you have to have backhoes on top to be able to repair those places where this ditch is violated. This also contemplates steps enabled so that the community members, the local people, can travel with their cattle. This is something that I discussed with the mayor Javier Díaz de Colchane and with the community of Colchane.
Guianas: This ditch on the 850 kilometer border?
Kast: It doesn't necessarily have to be within 850 km, the estimate I give you is around the ditch only, not the fence.
Guianas: Because people continue to pass through Ollagüe and through different points
Kas: But Ollagüe has a totally different situation. It is not Colchane, I have been in Colchane, I have been in Arica, they are different situations.
Guianas: And have you been to Ollagüe?
Kast: I have not been to Ollagüe but I have inquired with the local authorities and today there is no flow of migration there.
Guianas: If there is
Kast: But not at Colchane's level, Ollagüe is much more controllable than Colchane.
Boric and Conflict in La Araucanía
Juan Rafael Maldonado: A good part of those who live in La Araucanía and Biobío do not sleep peacefully because of the indigenous conflict that is related to the territory, the military presence in the area has reduced the amount of crime and increased the sense of security. You do not support militarization, but you have also said that those who commit crimes should be behind bars. And in Araucanía people have died, even burned alive. His position clashes with a video of primaries, where as music by Silvio Rodríguez, a hooded man gets into the vehicle with which he travels the country. Why should people believe his condemnation of violence? And if you are an enemy of militarization, what is your proposal to end rural violence?
Boric: I invite you to watch that video again, because the one uploaded is a woman doing a performance and not a hooded man who was throwing stones.
Maldonado: But he was wearing a hood, which is the symbol of violence.
Boric: It is not the symbol of violence, but beyond that, I have never validated violence and I have suffered it. I firmly believe that violence is not the way. Therefore, the violence of those who believe that acting, burning churches or with attacks, nor those who go for militarization. Do you think that in the years of Sebastián Piñera the situation in the southern macrozone has improved? What are we better than before? What the candidate in front is proposing is a deepening of the same policies that Sebastián Piñera has carried out. What we propose is a dialogue like the one carried out by the Nansen Center with the churches, the universities, the communities, in order to carry out a process of reunion and trust, which is much more difficult. Perhaps it is a longer path, but I have no doubt that it is much more fruitful because we are convinced that the conflict between the Mapuche nation people can be resolved by talking.
Maldonado: The problem, congressman, is that all these years there have been instances of conversation, Conadi has distributed thousands of hectares of land for the development of communities and no progress has been made, the violence has deepened. With a state of emergency, crime has decreased in the area and people support the presence of the military.
Boric: Do you want to keep the military permanently in La Araucanía?
Maldonado: No matter what I think, I ask you.
Boric: It matters to me, just like any other citizen. I am convinced that weapons, submachine guns and tanks are not going to end the violence in Araucanía, it is the encounter between two peoples. We have to talk about territory and self-determination, just as New Zealand and Canada have done. It can be done differently.
The tense confrontations between the candidates
First interpellation
Kast: Here is a candidate who has had such radically different positions as being in favor of State of Emergency, then be against. Being against the Anti Barricades Law and now being in favor of it. Being in favor of pardoning criminal looters and now being against it. Permanently ignoring what his advisors tell him in the economic area because I don't know why he sends someone to Chilean Day, why he has Sebastián Depolo, why he has Mr. Latorre, they all say different things and are radically changing their position in this Second round. He was in favor of the short circuit that Colmed raised and today he is no longer. He was in favor of increasing the number of parliamentarians, which clearly did not meet the objective, and I must say that the rules are there to be followed by Gabriel and if the aftershocks come at the end, you have to follow them. Lastly, I would like to tell you that it would have been good if you didn't run away from the 15 debates that you proposed that you were going to have with me yourself, because you said "Come on, I asked my teams to challenge José Antonio Kast to have debates" and this is the first that we managed to have, and I am sorry for the democracy in Chile that it is not possible to make your and my proposals known in front.
Boric: José Antonio Kast's obsession with lying reaches unprecedented levels. We had a debate at the University of Chile to discuss culture, education and science, guess who didn't show up: José Antonio Kast. We had a debate to discuss the water problem in Chile and guess who didn't show up: José Antonio Kast. The governors invited us to Pozo Almonte to discuss decentralization and guess who didn't show up: José Antonio Kast. To say that I don't want to debate while I'm here debating with you is an absolute lie. But it also seems very important to me to say other things, it has become clear that here José Antonio Kast is going to be the President of the truckers, we are going to become the Presidency that promotes a new rail network in Chile. Questions have been said that are very unusual, arresting people in places other than prisons, I would like to know what you are thinking about. The payment of the increase by the workers in the contribution, we establish that this has to be paid progressively by the employer with support for SMEs. Gas for all says that it is something populist. And, he talks about cutting high salaries in half when he was in the Chamber of Deputies, he tenaciously opposed that idea. So, I think it's okay to change your mind when you see evidence in better proposals, what I don't find acceptable, José Antonio, is that you simply end up becoming a totally different candidate from the one you had proposed.
Kast: The only thing I can say is that Gabriel Boric, and that's why he changed the C to the K, is looking more and more like Kast, all you have to do is put on a police uniform and go applaud them for the management they have done in Chile. It is incredible how you have insulted the Armed Forces, the public force, it is incredible how you have endorsed crime and delinquency and today you say that you are going to favor SMEs, when you want to raise taxes, fix salaries, everything you do goes to the detriment of SMEs and when you realize that this does not benefit you, you withdraw your sayings. And I want to remind you that at the end of your campaign to go to the second round you yourself said 'José Antonio, I have asked my advisers to face each other in debates every day and on all issues.' I'm still waiting for you.
Boric: Here we are, José Antonio.
Kast: In one of 15 Debates You Should Have Had.
Second interpellation
Boric: When the gender identity law was enacted in 2018, José Antonio Kast spoke of a liberal dictatorship. When La Moneda was illuminated on the day of sexual diversity, José Antonio Kast spoke of a gay dictatorship. When we went to phase two in the pandemic, José Antonio Kast spoke of a health dictatorship. He wrote a column in 2018 saying that the majority of journalists are from the left and the media are dominated by them and there he spoke of a progressive media dictatorship. I asked José Antonio Kast, what do you not consider a dictatorship? And by the way, do you consider the one you supported in 1988 in the Yes campaign to be a dictatorship? And finally, where would you put prisoners in your State of Exception in places that are not prisons for people?
Kast: Well, on the subject of freedom of the press, I would ask Gabriel to criticize the statement of the Association of Journalists that he signed a statement supporting his candidacy, that seems absolutely improper to me. I would also ask you to speak with your adviser Diego Pardow who said that they were going to look at the issue of freedom of expression because I think that this adviser of yours... I want to ask you to speak with Diego Pardow, I want to ask you to speak with the College of Journalists to reverse that decision because it clearly violates freedom of expression. I also want to summon you regarding violence.
Moderator: If you want to subpoena, are you going to use your 30 seconds?
Kast: Yeah, I'll use my 30 seconds.
Boric: But are you going to answer the question?
Kast: Yeah, I'm going to answer it when appropriate, now I'm going to use my 30 seconds.
Boric: but, what about when? Because I asked him the question...
Kast: I asked you several questions that you have never answered, which is inflation, the economy, there are many other things that in many debates you have not answered, so...
Boric: so you are going to follow that same line?
Kast: Your line? No never. I am very different and I answer things directly. Since you spoke to me about journalists from the left, I am answering you, you say that the journalists are from the left, no, they are not from the left but the leaders
Boric: you said that
Kast: But the journalists who run the College of Journalists
Boric: the column written by José Antonio Kast said that journalists in Chile are from the left and that is why there is a media dictatorship
Kast: Well, Gabriel says that he is against violence and he endorsed the violence of the Manuel Rodríguez Front, he used and misused Jaime Guzmán's shirt who had a bullet in his head, met with the murderer of Jaime Guzmán in secret, valid violent protests, voted against the Anti-Barricades Law, voted against the law that punished those who mistreated firefighters in Chile, voted or made people in favor of him vote r against the extension of the State of Exception, I permanently propose to pardon the violent ties and does not recognize that in La Araucanía there is no terrorism
Boric: Hopefully there will be a fast check so that they can verify that most of the statements that José Antonio Kast has made in this interpellation are outright false. But you know what José Antonio Kast, we have a difference, when I'm wrong I apologize, When the subject of Jaime Guzmán's shirt came up I think I made a serious mistake and publicly apologized.
Boric: When I am wrong, unlike you, I am able to amend the position because I believe that in politics
Kast: Did you apologize to the woman who accused you of abuse? did you apologize? That situation has not yet been clarified, there is a woman who denounced you for abuse and you still have not asked for forgiveness.
Boric: here is a question that seems serious to me, and I find it unfortunate that you use a space like this on topics that you have absolutely no idea about
Kast: did you apologize or not, did you talk to her?
Boric: I have pointed out in all terms...
Kast: Did you talk to the woman?
Boric: I have indicated in all the terms that I am totally available because I have nothing to hide from any investigation of a judicial nature
Kast: And you said sorry?
Boric: is that José Antonio is not about that, it seems that you have not understood the issue of how the protocols work
Kast: can you clarify what happened? Why does a woman accuse you of abuse?
Moderator: This is not a coffee conversation and you have to respect the auditors.
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