Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado has called on lawmakers to support the Executive’s legislative agenda aimed at curbing violence in schools and universities. The appeal follows the assault yesterday on Science Minister Ximena Lincolao at the Isla Teja campus of the Austral University of Chile.
Alvarado defended the government’s initiatives, arguing that Congress must present a united front against these incidents. "We should all be standing behind these initiatives to reduce or penalize such illicit behavior within educational institutions," he stated this morning on Radio Duna.
A political litmus test in the Chamber
The Minister warned that next week’s vote will serve as a trial by fire for members of the Chamber of Deputies. According to the Interior chief, the results will clearly reveal where each political faction stands regarding public order in education.
"The voting board in the Chamber of Deputies is quite clear. Those who want to protect and care for education will show green, and those who covertly wish to maintain violence will show red," Alvarado declared. The Minister is hoping for broad, cross-party support, though he acknowledges there may be disagreements over the specific wording of the articles.
Regarding the status of the students involved, Alvarado noted that expulsion is a matter for university authorities to decide. However, he condemned the behavior as unacceptable, describing it as a coordinated effort to hold an official against her will.
"I believe that, at the very least, it warrants that type of sanction," the Minister said regarding the possibility of expulsion. For the cabinet chief, this episode was not a spontaneous act driven by student grievances, but rather an ideological maneuver.
Alvarado revealed that there is written evidence of calls to confront the authority figure during her visit to the campus. "There is a political manipulation of these situations here, pushed to the extreme to signal their disagreement with the government's actions," he concluded.