Communist Party of Chile responds to accusations of President Kast

President José Antonio Kast stated that the Communist Party is 'seeking to stir up trouble in the streets and halt the democratic progress promoted by the government and Congress', linking the social mobilization to violence and saying that 'Chileans want solutions, not more violence'.

Meanwhile, Johannes Kaiser, the president of the National Libertarian Party, argued that, following Kast's logic, if the mobilizations end in violence, a disciplinary process should be initiated that could lead to the dissolution of the Communist Party. He emphasized that the Communist Party should be held accountable for any violence committed during the protests they have called for.

This raised concerns within the political world about the idea of linking mobilization with violence, and about the possibility of banning the Communist Party from political life, as happened in 1973.

The head of the Communist Party and the independents' legislative bloc, Daniela Serrano, stated the following: "Firstly, when the president claims that 'we are dedicated to obstructing the progress this government wants to make', we would like to point out that we are not aware of any progress whatsoever. Secondly, if he is going to confuse social mobilization with discontent among the citizenry, we believe he is mistaken."

Communist legislator Boris Barrera argued that citizen mobilization is a way for people and society to express themselves, and that it is a democratic tool enshrined in the Constitution and international treaties. He added that it was extremely serious for President Kast to suggest that there was violence behind it, and that he hoped he would correct his statements.

The controversy sparked by the president and echoed by the head of the National Libertarian Party began after Representative Lorena Pizarro declared in an interview on Radio Nuevo Mundo that 'we need to organize, we need to mobilize, because there’s a mindset that took hold after 1990 that Congress solves everything', alluding to the fact that, although the legislature debates bills with social impact, it is necessary for people to mobilize and express their opinions on the matter. The legislator pointed out that 'if we have people protesting for their rights in the galleries and outside Congress, it's a different story because those are the people making demands'.

He emphasized that 'we will not be able to reverse what the Executive, this far-right government, wants to do if people do not organize themselves and demand an end to these criminal setbacks.'

In response to the President's reaction, Pizarro stated: 'What is this about criminalizing and demonizing people for saying we need to mobilize? That's democracy; learn it. Many lives were sacrificed for it.” He emphasized that 'saying we need to mobilize for our rights is part of the democratic process. Or don't you believe in democracy?”

‘When a government fails to respond to social, economic and security emergencies, it resorts to the old playbook of seeking internal enemies and fueling polarization to divert attention from its own crisis,’ declared Deputy Nathalie Castillo of the Communist Party. She added that it was ‘deeply irresponsible and dishonest for President Kast to suggest that the Communist Party or opposition groups are “seeking to stir up trouble in the streets”, just as his government is facing another drop in approval ratings’.