MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile's Constitutional Court ejects Isabel Allende from Senate

Tribunal Constitucional de Chile expulsa a Isabel Allende del Senado

Chile’s Constitutional Court (CC) voted Thursday 8-2 in favor of removing Isabel Allende -daughter of former President Salvador Allende- in connection with her involvement in the attempt to have President Gabriel Boric Font's Government purchase the former head of State's house to turn it into a museum in honor of the Socialist leader ousted by Augusto Pinochet Ugarte's military coup d'état in 1973.

The fudgy deal also cost Maya Fernández her post as Defense Minister. Fernández is Isabel Allende's niece and Salvador's grandaughter.

The Constitutional Court's ruling was prompted by a filing from the center-right Republican Party and the Chile Vamos coalition. The CC found that Allende, a 31-year parliamentary veteran and political heir to the former president, violated the Constitution by engaging in state contract negotiations, prohibited under Article 60.

The project, initiated in 2023 and approved in the 2024 Budget Law, involved Senator Allende and her niece as property co-owners. Allende met with government officials, and her son-in-law, Felipe Vio, proposed transferring the house to the Allende Foundation, where her daughter Marcia Tambutti is president.

Despite initial plans, the purchase shifted from the Cultural Heritage Service to the Ministry of National Assets, and the museum idea was abandoned due to insufficient funds and the exclusion of furniture.

Thursday's ruling -the first decision for the CC in its 50-year history- meant a significant setback for Boric’s leftwing coalition, as well as the Socialist Party, which must now appoint a successor to the Upper House for the remainder of Allende's term.

Additionally, Allende and Fernández face a criminal investigation led by prosecutor Patricio Cooper, following a complaint by Republican lawyer Raimundo Palamara.

Given Boric's absence due to a trip to India on official business, Minister Spokesperson Aisén Etcheverry expressed La Moneda's regret over the CC’s decision, which, in her view, constituted a “serious precedent.” However, Etcheverry acknowledged the CC’s autonomy while defending Allende’s parliamentary career. She also insisted that Allende and her family acted in good faith.

“As the Executive Branch, we must respect the rulings of the CC, but we cannot but regret a decision that, according to the background we have at hand, would generate a serious precedent,” Etcheverry argued.

Allende issued a statement highlighting that “as a family we agreed and followed all the legal indications for the purchase, which never materialized, as argued by our lawyer, Mr. Gabriel Osorio, before the full Constitutional Court.”

“We always acted in good faith and never received a peso for a project that did not prosper. These arguments were apparently not taken up by the majority of the court. We regret this,” she stressed.

Regarding her late father, who died during the military uprising, the now former Senator argued that “the memory of President Allende will remain intact” because “the ruling does not tarnish it.”

Although ”there will be no museum (...), there will still be streets and squares with his name throughout Chile and the world,” she underlined.