COLUMN | The Challenges Facing Mayor San Martín in Las Condes

Las Condes needs changes in integrity, internal control, auditing, security, and good management, but equally important is ensuring that basic services are maintained during transitions; otherwise, the mayor's honeymoon will be short-lived.

I usually write about security, defense, and international relations, but this time I will address Las Condes, which, due to my recent election as a councilor, I have some knowledge of its capabilities and issues.

Las Condes is a municipality that has previously been in the news for issues related to integrity and transparency, and more recently for letters in El Mercurio related to problems with the renewal of driver’s licenses and the management of municipal services in the area of security.

We will never know if Mayor San Martín won the elections due to the salary issue of Marcela Cubillos, or because her electoral proposal focused on integrity and transparency appealed to voters. I believe she became mayor due to a combination of both circumstances. She served four years as a councilor before becoming mayor and had a relatively clear understanding of the main issues that were problematic, what needed improvement and change, and perhaps the challenges she would have to address.

It is more than evident that processes of change like those led by Mayor San Martín will generate noise, that mistakes will be made, and that her actions will generate backlash from those affected by her measures. In this regard, for the transformation process to be successful, her team must clearly identify who is in favor, who is observing, and who has their own agendas opposing the administration’s plans.

I will divide the issues related to Las Condes into three sections: those concerning integrity and transparency, those related to the efficiency and effectiveness of municipal services, and those pertaining to community security. All of these are important to residents, and we gain nothing by excelling in one area while failing in others.

It is clear that integrity and transparency in Las Condes could have been better, with a tendency at times to focus on the individuals involved, especially those related to previous administrations, which, while correct, should not overshadow what is more important, which in my view are the design flaws in internal control and auditing processes that allowed some to lose their way.

In this sense, the audits contracted in 2024, such as those conducted by the Comptroller General of the Republic, help to understand where the flaws are and what needs to be fixed, which often is not more complex than having processes mapped, digitized, and controlled—a simple measure that could have avoided many current headaches.

In the case of Las Condes the most concerning issue is the lack of control over the spending of corporations, the Community Union of Neighborhood Councils (UCJV), and all those organizations that receive subsidies or transfers of funds from the municipality for their operation.

It is very likely that in most cases everything is correct, but it only takes untimely or unclear expense reports to raise doubts or lead to misinterpretations, and in this regard, previous administrations bear responsibility. Having a decentralized management model without adequate control schemes invites problems.

It is more than evident that if the issues of integrity and transparency are addressed, the basic community services may be affected if they need to be intervened. This is more art than science, but it is something the new administration must be cautious about, as the typical resident of Las Condes does not forgive issues like dirty streets, malfunctioning community services such as the renewal of driver’s licenses, or compromised security.

Residents of Las Condes love transparency and want us to be an example of integrity, but that love for what is right ceases to be a priority if the basics do not function, and on the other hand, they do not accept being blamed for the cobblestones or previous administrations after two months in office, with those in charge needing to be capable of walking while chewing gum.

Community security deserves a separate chapter. Clearly, Las Condes has better security than other municipalities, and residents are aware of this, and it is something they are not willing to compromise on. However, that being said, being better does not mean it is prepared for the challenges posed by complex criminality in the future.

Las Condes has highly developed capabilities in terms of cameras and license plate readers, with their respective control and monitoring schemes, which allows for relatively good response times compared to police forces or other municipalities.

But it also faces significant challenges in security, the main ones being the low number of police officers, which means that its security primarily relies on municipal inspectors and UCJV patrols, an organization that manages almost half of the personnel and vehicles dedicated to this issue, which in itself can be a problem if coordination and control are not adequate. It is evident that it would be better if all were under the municipality, but this does not seem to be an easy solution. Clearly, in security, we do not want problems; we want it to be effective while also efficient, and we do not want to degrade what we already have, even if in some cases it is held together with sticks.

Understanding that what already exists cannot decline in quality, the major security challenge is to prepare Las Condes to prevent the presence of complex criminality that occurs in the rest of Chile, which can be achieved through good integration with neighboring municipalities, with the police and the Public Ministry, by using new technologies such as AI, and by having units focused on criminal organizations, and above all, an intelligence fusion center that allows for anticipating events by knowing what is happening in the municipality. In this regard, the presence and leadership of General (r) Bolívar provide reassurance and confidence that this will be the case.

In summary, it is clear that Las Condes needs changes in integrity, internal control, auditing, security, and good management, but equally important is ensuring that basic services are maintained during transitions; otherwise, the mayor’s honeymoon will be short-lived and the reality to face will be different. It is better to address the problems rather than continue blaming previous administrations. The narrative and the need for change are already established; it only remains to execute the changes well and manage the municipality as it deserves.