Chile and the Crisis of Trust

El Líbero, March 22, 2024

The foundations case has called into question the government, Hermosilla’s phone call to the SII, the PDI, and who knows how many others, the raid on the offices of the Los Ángeles prosecutor’s office by the Public Ministry, and Judge Urrutia in the Judiciary.

When trust is lost, democracy is at risk. The weakening of the solid institutions that protect us and ensure the permanence of the State is a sign of this. The foundations case and Hermosilla’s phone call are the materialization of the above. An ideal scenario for the advancement of organized crime that is entrenched in camps is corroding Chile.

Much is said about the decoupling between objective and subjective security data; however, we should be discussing the decoupling between citizen perception and government actions to combat organized crime, that is, trust in the authorities.

Trust is, according to the RAE, the firm hope one has in someone or something. A hope that in Chile seems to be fading away. The foundations case has called into question the government, Hermosilla’s phone call to the SII, the PDI, and who knows how many others, the raid on the offices of the Los Ángeles prosecutor’s office by the Public Ministry, and Judge Urrutia in the Judiciary. All of these are fundamental institutions and services.

Chile has been built on centuries of effort that have managed to establish a State that for decades was an exception in a Latin America marked by corruption and violence. Today, the landscape is different. We are getting closer to those realities that for years were said to occur in other countries. We wanted to resemble Finland, Denmark, or Sweden; we looked at the European model and debated which was best for the future of Chile. But we forgot that two of our neighbors are major drug producers, that the northern border has a very high level of porosity exploited by illegal migration and organized crime, and that we have a port infrastructure that is extremely attractive to those seeking to send large shipments of drugs to Asia and Europe.

The key for Chile to come closer to Nordic countries and further from Latin American ones is trust and institutional safeguarding. Everyone who serves the country must contribute to protecting its institutions, and those who lead us must restore trust.

Undoubtedly, security is an urgency; however, the underlying problem relates to the consolidation of the State, its institutions, and the rule of law. Without this, cases like the ones mentioned will continue to accumulate. Just as will and a firm hand are required to combat crime, the same is needed to ensure institutional integrity. Separate the individual from the institution, sanction the individual, and protect the institution.

The speculations about networks of white-collar corruption made by the spokesperson are very serious and require the utmost care. The problem needs serious and responsible treatment. Authorities must set an example and not fall into ambiguities. Otherwise, there is a lack of understanding of the threat, and we drift further away from those European countries we wish to resemble.

Pilar Lizana
Senior Researcher, AthenaLab

Source: El Líbero