In an unprecedented event, the recently re-elected mayor of the city of Victoria (615 km south of Santiago, Araucanía Region), Javier Jaramilloobtained last Friday a two hour permit from a local court to be able to attend the ceremony in which he once again sat in the building chair of that commune, despite being with house arrest after being formalized for the crimes of rape and sexual abuse against two officials of his municipality.
His case, without a doubt the most notorious, caused great controversy in the country and joins that of at least four other municipal administrators who were elected or re-elected, but who maintain open cases for various crimes of a sexual nature, as well as domestic violence and bribery.
And although the Justice decreed for Jaramillo in July of this year six months of investigation for events that occurred in January 2016 and June 2019, the mayor of Victoria was also re-elected with the 29,82% of the votes, which reveals the little information that voters have when choosing their community leaders, or a simple political apathy.
A second case is that of the brand new mayor of Chillán Viejo, Jorge del Pozo, who had too many drinks in the celebration after his victory on October 27 in the municipal elections and was arrested in the early morning hours by domestic violence against your partner, fact for which it was formalized by minor injuries.
The mayor – independent with support from the Radical Party – was left with prohibition of approaching the victim and had to leave the home they both shared, but at the same time it was learned that he also maintained two causes under investigation, both of a sexual nature.
The first of them was declared admissible in March of this year and was presented by the director of a kindergarten, who claims that in November 2022, del Pozo forced her to dance at a social event, threatening her with “take the consequences” If not, according to a note from The Discussion of Chillán.
Then, he would have insisted on inviting her to his house “so that we can have a rich moment” and since that never happened, the alleged victim She was fired from her job without justification.
The second complaint was stamped on April by a former municipality worker, who maintains that in 2020 she went to the house of the then councilor for work reasons. There, from the Well, there would be cornered by making sexual advances and he would have tried to restrain her when she tried to flee.
The third case corresponds to the lawyer Mario Meza, who was re-elected for the third time as mayor of the commune of Linares (300 km south of Santiago, Maule Region), despite the fact that he has been under nightly house arrest for a month after being accused of tax fraud.
According to the Public Ministry, the National Renewal activist would have created a network with 14 other people -some also municipal officials-, to benefit a series of suppliers in the purchase of hygiene supplies and food in times of the covid-19, who later returned part of those profits and generated millionaire profits.
Another case that caused controversy is that of Aníbal Valenzuela (Independent), elected mayor of the commune of I choose (164 km south of Santiago, O’Higgins Region) who was in preventive detention for issuing driver’s licenses to several Colo Colo players without meeting basic requirementswhile he was an official of said municipality.
The call ‘Licensing Case’ It came to light in December of last year when, after months of investigation, the Prosecutor’s Office managed to determine that Valenzuela, former director of the Traffic Department, processed licenses for several soccer players. in exchange for clothing and merchandising of the team of his loves.
Due to this, he was charged with the crimes of aggravated bribery as reiterated. And although the event shocked that quiet town, Valenzuela He was still elected with 49.59% of the votes.
Finally, we will have to see how things turn out to be Boris Chamorro (PS)mayor of Coronel (530 km south of Santiago, Bío Bío Region), reelected for the third time with 52%, who This Monday he is being formalized for bribery, unfair administration and tax crimes for the delivery of resources from Puerto Coronel to various local authorities. Chamorro took office last Friday, and this day he could remain in preventive detention.
