Chile Must Take Endemic Corruption More Seriously
The Council for Transparency should have constitutional status
By Andres Kogan Valderrama
HAVANA TIMES – The recent Hermosilla case, which is uncovering serious corruption in Chile, involving lawyer Luis Hermosilla with potential payments to officials of the Internal Revenue Service, the Commission for the Financial Market, and even the Investigations Police, once again places the lack of a more solid institutional framework regarding probity and transparency at the center of the discussion.
Hence, this case can be seen not only as another scandal in a long list of episodes that should embarrass us as Chileans, as is seen daily in many municipalities. It is also a historic opportunity to take profound measures and make structural changes that serve to dignify the role of the State and the institutions that support it.
One of those necessary and urgent reforms that could be carried out is to grant constitutional status to the Council for Transparency. Thus, like other autonomous bodies such as the Central Bank, the General Comptroller of the Republic, the National Television Council, the Electoral Service, the Constitutional Tribunal, or the Public Ministry, which have been greatly strengthened by being part of the constitution.
Consequently, what is at stake is that the current powers of the Council for Transparency, such as promoting, overseeing, and sanctioning state entities in matters of advertising, transparency, and access to information (acts, justifications, and procedures), as well as the appointment of its counselors, become part of the constitution, and not only as part of an existing law.
In the same vein, placing the Council for Transparency in the constitution only enhances what appears in Article 8, which obliges public functions to be carried out within the framework of probity, thus providing a powerful oversight and sanctioning tool. Unfortunately the Council has struggled to make its work known to the general population, which mostly remains unaware of its functioning.
Likewise, granting constitutional status to the Council for Transparency will allow all the commissions and laws that have been approved since the return to democracy, within the framework of cross-cutting political reforms for probity, to have a much stronger specialized body regarding accountability by authorities and compliance with regulations that respond to a citizenry tired, distrustful, and deeply dissatisfied with institutions in general.
It is in this latter point, social discontent, that it becomes crucial to see that the lack of transparency and access to public information only deepens and weakens democracy. It gives rise to opportunistic sectors, supposedly enlightened and pure, who begin to speak of a political caste only to attack institutionalism, instead of proposing structural reforms that truly address the problem.
The first proposal of new constitution written in 2022, not the second from last year, included the Council for Transparency. However, it had a bad ending, being defeated in the plebiscite, as was the second. However, that does not mean we should leave things as they are and refuse to make reforms to the current constitution, which whether we like it or not, is what we have and needs changes like this.
Therefore, we may no longer be in a constituent assembly moment in Chile, but we are at a time that demands political authorities to truly believe that transparency and access to public information are a human right that must be guaranteed, as important as other existing ones, so giving constitutional status to the Council for Transparency can be a new beginning to restore citizens’ trust in the State.
Of course, that trust will not be automatic if the Council for Transparency becomes part of the constitution, but it is a firm and clear signal that corruption will never be accepted, through an autonomous body specifically responsible for receiving complaints from Chileans who see their rights being violated.
Furthermore, few would doubt the importance and positivity for the country that the creation of the Council for Transparency has been, so granting it more legal weight, powers, and more resources becomes an obligation in these moments of discredit for institutionalism, following various existing corruption cases.
Having said all of the above, let’s hope that the executive and legislative branches agree on something so important for Chile, with the upcoming municipal and regional elections in October. Such would put transparency and participation as a key issue, so that integrity becomes a constant and a habit for all those who work in the public sector.