With a special “dedication” ended the session of the mixed commission, made up of deputies and senators in order to agree on a mechanism for intervention of the Armed Forces. to protect critical infrastructure.
In the meeting, held last Wednesday, where a formula was approved that empowers the President of the Republic to have military personnel for internal security, Senator UDI Ebensperger light asked for the floor after the vote to “not lower the profile” or subtract “seriousness” to the attempt of the Minister Secretary General of the Presidency (Segpres), Giorgio Jacksonwho suggested stopping the initiative, arguing that any change to the current Constitution risks being a waste of time if the new Fundamental Charter is approved.
Senator DC and Chairman of the Joint Commission, Matias Walkercoincided with the words of the trade unionist and reiterated that the Senate will not waive its obligation to legislate until last day.
In the end, the proposal was approved by seven votes in favor (from the PPD to the UDI) and only the RD deputy Jorge Brito abstained. Although the socialist legislators were absent (Leonardo Soto and Alfonso de Urresti), the text also had the approval of the PS.
The risk that parliamentary initiatives begin to take flight without the consent of La Moneda, became a new flank for Minister Jacksonwho is in charge of having control of the legislative agenda.
Two other examples of this parliamentary autonomy are the introduction of a motion by the Broad Front to restrict gun ownership (which anticipates the proposal that the Executive will make) and the reform of a group of DC senators to lower the quorum to eventual modifications to the current Constitutionwhich in practice is the first alternative move to the work of the Constitutional Convention.
Although the head of the Segpres has managed to set up an organization to monitor projects and has reduced the belligerence with the PS and PC blocs, theThe legislative machine of the government is still running.
Furthermore, the minister is still in a phase of adjusting relations with senators and deputies, who usually have a rough treatment with the head of the Segpres, especially in his first months, in order to delimit their spaces of power. In fact, nicknames are common at this stage. “Suffering soul” he was called, for example, by former senator PS Camilo Escalona a Christian Larroulet. “Baby Blumel” It was the nickname that the deputy gave him Pamela Jiles a Gonzalo Blumelwho also received constant criticism from Senator Yasna Provoste. A Jose Antonio Viera-GalloFor his part, former senator Alexander Navarro told him that he had “negotiating incontinence.”
For now, the minister has kept Congress busy by setting 65 emergencies to speed up the processing of some projects, mostly motions from legislators or messages from past governments. However, in theThe elaboration of own laws has been left behind.
Con 12 messages (of which 8 came from the Ministry of Finance), the administration of Gabriel Boric is the third government since 1990 with fewer initiatives own billing to date, since it only exceeds the figures of Ricardo Lagos (4 messages) and Sebastian Pinera in his second period (11).
For comparison, as of June 13, Patrick Aylwin added up 44 Projects; Eduardo Frei wore 25; Michelle Bacheletin his first term, had 17 and, in his second, 25; while Piñera in his first management accumulated 25.
The half-machine legislative factory of the current government, in any case, has a reason. There is a strategic decision to refrain from awaiting the outcome of the constituent process.
In fact, that was the argument made by Jackson, on May 18, before the critical infrastructure mixed commission that worked in the Upper Housewhich generated the transversal unease of a group of senators and deputies.
For some, that phrase marked a before and after, especially in the minister’s relationship with the DC senators, who have been turning towards a more oppositional role.
“I haven’t seen Minister Jackson in the Senate for a long time.”, commented Senator Walker to La Tercera, who along with his Falangist peers Ximena Rincón and Iván Floresin addition to the independent PPD Peter Araya, presented the reform to lower the quorum. Although the initiative was a response to certain Falangist legislators, who have declared themselves in favor of Approval, it was also an open challenge to the ministerwho pointed out that there were things in the government program that could not be executed with the current Constitution.
In general, the relationship of the head of the Segpres has been more difficult with the Upper House. Perhaps an example of this is that since March 11, Jackson has only spoken once in the Senate chamber and since May 17 he has not set foot in the hemicycle again.
The socialist senators were the first to come across the minister. Some of them like Alfonso de Urresti, Fidel Espinoza and Juan Luis Castro they assumed the critical voice of the corporation before the debate that was taking place in the Convention for the end of the Senate, an issue that was endorsed to Jackson for being the representative of the government before the constituent instance.
That irritation was further aggravated by the efforts made by Jackson for the presidency of the Senate with the RN Manuel Jose Ossandonin circumstances that the socialists had a preliminary agreement with the UDI and the PPD, to share the years in the front.
However, having overcome the trance of the end of the Senate and once Álvaro Elizalde (PS) was elected as president of the Upper House, tension with the socialists eased. An important link in the rebuilding of ties was the lawyer and head of the Segpres Political Relations Division, Nicholas Facuse (). The support of Elizalde, of Jose Miguel Insulza (head of the caucus of the socialist senators) and the deputy Thomas of Rementeria (deputy head of the PS committee in the House).
Another difficult group of senators for the head of the Segpres has been the UDI. So far it is one of the few committees Jackson has not met with.
An example of this complex treatment was the joke thrown at him by the head of the union caucus, Ivan Moreira, on May 4. That day, the Senate approved the nomination of the journalist Rodrigo Cid for the TVN directory. Although the Minister General Secretary of Government was in the room, Camila Vallejo, who led the talks to gather the votes, Jackson entered the chamber at the end to congratulate his cabinet partner. Moreira snapped at him scathingly “thank goodness” that he had arrived lateOtherwise, in his opinion, the appointment would not have been approved, causing laughter in the room.
To fill this gap with the right, an important role has begun to be played by the Undersecretary General of the Presidency, Macarena Loboswho, for example, was in charge of negotiating the minimum wage bill with opposition representatives, including Senator Juan Antonio Coloma (UDI).
In the past, Lobos was a legislative advisor to DC and PPD senators and developed ties with right-wing figures, where they admit to having professional respect for her.
In addition to Lobos and Facuse, who have become pillars of Jackson’s managementthe ministry has a group of advisers who act as liaisons with the respective benches.
This group, which reports to Facuse, is coordinated by the communist lawyer Carlos Arrue and integrate it Sebastián García (PS), Miguel Ángel Vergara (PPD), Sofía Fuentes (liaison with Social Convergence and Commons), Francisca Oyarzún (RD), Guillermo Briceño (PC) and Luis Lindemann (DC)who was the last signing of the Segpres in a bid to improve communication with the Falange.