Press Review of the Americas

In Chile, Gabriel Boric asks other parties for a "truce" because of security crisis

Protesters chant slogans hostile to Gabriel Boric on April 6, 2023 in Santiago, Chile, after the killing of Corporal Daniel Palma Yáñez. © AP/Esteban Felix

Text by: Christophe Paget Follow

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Three police officers have been killed in less than a month, which, writes La Tercera, "has exacerbated the security crisis the president has faced since taking office" a year ago, a crisis "that reached its breaking point Thursday morning with the assassination of Corporal Daniel Palma Yáñez, 33." Since the Emol report, "gestures of support for the police institution have multiplied throughout the country": hundreds of people have gathered in Plaza Italia in the capital Santiago. And the public and the authorities were present in large numbers at the funeral of the policeman, written in Diario austral, funeral attended by three former Chilean presidents: Sebastian Pinera, Michelle Bachelet and Ricardo Lagos, in addition to Gabriel Boric.

Yesterday, El Mostrador writes, "the president announced that he would release $1,500 million to toughen state action against organized crime," with the goal of "improving police protection." This money, says the newspaper, "is not reassigned, it comes from the emergency funds of the Public Treasury".

Gabriel Boric had this Thursday invited the political parties to the Moneda Palace to find a solution to the security crisis. Almost all of them came to listen to him, writes La Tercera, from both the majority and the opposition. The head of state asked them for a "truce", urging them "to debate in good faith, share successes and put aside political maneuvers". However, as for the opposition, no party leader came, a sign according to the newspaper "of distance and embarrassment from the government", not to mention that "the elections to the Constitutional Council (which are working on a draft new constitution) are taking place in a short time".

Two elected officials excluded from a local parliament in the United States

In the United States, in the state of Tennessee, two elected representatives were excluded from Parliament after demonstrating for better gun control. "Scandal as Tennessee legislature expels several of its members," headlines the New York Times. "Their crime," writes Politico: "joining protesters who gathered in Nashville last week to demand gun control reform after a shooting that killed seven people, including the shooter." The newspaper said the two newly elected Democrats, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, are black, and that Republicans failed to muster a two-thirds majority to oust a third elected Democrat, Gloria Johnson, who had also participated in the protest, but who is white.

The local newspaper The Tennessean called the expulsion "historic and partisan", citing the many letters received by the newspaper speaking of an "affront to democracy". "Shocking and anti-democratic," responded President Joe Biden, quoted by The Hill.

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It's a glimpse of what's to come " writes Politico. The daily recalls that in the entire history of the United States, only five people have so far been excluded, among others for criminal or immoral conduct. "But what happens if a legislature decides to exercise its power only because it can?" by the grace of a "supermajority," asks the news site, which fears that in the coming weeks "legislatures will exercise their power over absolutely everything, from the composition of the courts to the power of governors to the will of voters to see this or that subject addressed."

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benefits from Billionaire's Largesse

The online investigative magazine ProPublica reveals that Clarence Thomas, the most conservative of the Supreme Court justices of the United States, has benefited for years from the largesse of a Republican billionaire: "For twenty years, Clarence Thomas has enjoyed a luxury vacation in the care of Republican billionaire Harlan Crow," writes the site: " he went on cruises on his yacht to distant destinations, enjoyed his private jet, and kept company with Harlan Crow's powerful friends at his private vacation center. And none of these trips appear on any of the financial information the judge has communicated, which, according to experts contacted by the newspaper, seems to violate a law passed after the Watergate scandal.

The Los Angeles Times recalls having already, in 2004, talked about these trips and expensive gifts. As a result, "He seems to have continued to accept free travel from his wealthy friend, but stopped sharing them." In the Washington Post, one expert speaks of a "lack of real congressional oversight" of the Supreme Court in recent decades – this has not always been the case. "This seems to be the right time to remedy this," the daily said.

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• Chile
• Gabriel Boric
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