The Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) has admitted to strategic management failures following the attack and unlawful detention of Science Minister Ximena Lincolao at the Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh).
Emilio Rodríguez, CRUCH Executive Vice President and Rector of the University of Tarapacá, acknowledged that the UACh administration, under the leadership of Egon Montesinos, failed to establish time limits for negotiations during the incident.
“The Rector has been quite clear in recognizing that the strategy used to handle the emerging situation was not the correct one,” Rodríguez stated in an interview with CNN Chile Radio. The academic noted that while the goal was to maintain dialogue, the lack of a set deadline allowed the situation to drag on unnecessarily.
Security and the Limits of Autonomy
Rodríguez was emphatic in clarifying that university autonomy does not prevent law enforcement from intervening in cases of serious crime. He asserted that a university campus is not a territory exempt from national law.
“University autonomy will never mean having a territory within other territories. We are in Chile, and all Chilean laws apply here,” the official stated.
The Rector explained that in the event of a flagrant crime, such as the detention of a government official, the police (Carabineros) have the authority to enter university grounds. “If we see that a person is being held—and that person is a Cabinet Minister—there is no prohibition against the entry of law enforcement,” he declared.
To prevent future incidents, CRUCH has proposed the creation of expedited summary proceedings with dedicated prosecutors. The goal is to ensure that sanctions against those responsible are resolved within days, rather than through processes that take months or even years.
Regarding the parliamentary proposal to revoke free tuition for students involved in acts of violence, Rodríguez declined to take a definitive stance. He described the debate over linking disciplinary actions to financial aid as a profound debate on values that will be analyzed in Parliament.
The Council of Rectors will define new security protocols during its next session, scheduled to take place in the city of Chillán.
