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The recent scandal involving the High Court minister, Angela Vivancohas spread a deep crisis around the independence of the judiciary in Chile. Leaked series of conversations between Minister Vivanco and the lawyer Luis Hermosilla have questioned the impartiality of judicial decisions in cases of great social and political relevance, including those related to repression during the 2019 social revolution.
In the conversations published, Hermosilla asked Vivanco to participate in the review of the amparo sent by the Ombudsman for Children against the Investigative Police (PDI). Hermosilla praised the “very good arguments to reject the defense,” while Vivanco not only showed her willingness to cooperate, but also gave her instructions on how to proceed to do sure that she was present in the room that had to solve the case, indicating a real break-in. the legal process.
Human rights lawyer, Luis Mariano Rendonone of the first to raise his voice against these publications. In recent statements, Rendón highlighted Vivanco’s role in legitimizing repression during the social revolution of October 2019, when security forces applied a violent response to the face of activists.
“Today one of the grips of the oligarchic groups in the Judiciary has fallen. Ángela Vivanco was a combination of every type of corruption that one could imagine, but that we had no evidence to prove. Now, that evidence has come to light and we are sure that an essential principle of any justice system has been violated: its impartiality,” Rendón said strongly.
The lawyer also recalled how Vivanco, in her role as minister, was essential to stop the protection resources that were trying to stop police brutality during the 2019 demonstrations: “I had to send protection resources into which some ministers accepted, but Ángela Vivanco refused. , who were concerned about closing the detention facility as a useful tool to combat police brutality.
Rendón not only criticized Vivanco’s actions in court, but also her position as a professor at the Faculty of Law at the Catholic University, where, according to him, “she should be placed quickly emerged as a profound ethical landmark for new generations of lawyers. there they are created. In addition, he called for the initiation of a process of “deep cleaning” in the Judiciary, indicating that this is not an isolated case, but a system that allowed corruption within the highest legal spheres.
This scandal has created a wave of public outrage, and legal and political actions have not been long in coming. The plenary session of the Supreme Court has already decided to open a transfer case against Vivanco, and in the political sphere, a constitutional accusation is being prepared against him. Rendón insisted that this process must be accompanied by structural changes, including at the constitutional level, to ensure that the Judiciary is truly impartial and fair.
There is a crisis that not only affects the credibility of the Judiciary, but also undermines trust in the Chilean democratic system, with voices like Rendón calling for immediate and strong actions to bring justice to bring back in the country.
