The Senate Finance Committee session scheduled for April 14 was suspended following the absence of Security Minister Trinidad Steinert and Undersecretary Andrés Jouannette. The meeting was intended to discuss a bill aimed at modernizing the Chilean Carabineros and addressing the institution's current personnel shortage.
According to a report by Cooperativa, Minister Steinert, via her Chief of Staff Francisco Chambi, communicated that she would be unable to attend due to prior commitments, designating Jouannet as her substitute. However, a second notification revealed that the Undersecretary would also be unable to participate, resulting in a session that lasted only 22 minutes.
Presidential Security Minister José García Ruminot attended the session to apologize for the lack of coordination. García Ruminot explained to the committee that the Security Minister was attending a PDI event alongside President Kast, acknowledging the administrative error.
Opposition Reactions
The absence of the officials drew sharp criticism from across the political spectrum in the Senate. Senator Javier Macaya (UDI) described it as "lamentable" that those responsible for the ministry failed to show up for a discussion on such a critical issue for the country, as reported by Cooperativa.
Senator Rodolfo Carter was even more scathing in his critique of the Government's management. "This is an unpardonable error; it undermines the Government's entire security narrative. It would have cost nothing to take a different approach to this," Carter stated, according to Cooperativa.
Carter also noted that such mismanagement damages the credibility of the police force. The former mayor of La Florida warned that the lack of personnel in training academies is a sensitive issue that authorities cannot afford to ignore.
Representing the opposition, Senator Daniella Cicardini (PS) called the situation "shameful," pointing to a lack of respect for both the committee and the Carabineros due to the inconsistent excuses provided by the Ministry of Security, per Cooperativa.
Meanwhile, BioBioChile reported that this lack of coordination creates tension for the ruling coalition's agenda, particularly regarding structural police reforms. The outlet also noted that analysis on programs such asCausa y Efectohighlighted the lack of clarity within the Executive's security agenda.
