translated from Spanish: Minister Victor Pérez: “‘Support for Carabineros is fundamental”

The Minister of the Interior, Víctor Pérez, referred this day to the case of the 16-year-old who fell to the Mapocho rrío after being pushed by a carabinero and the murder of a worker in Collipulli, region of La Araucanía.Pérez stated that “democracy as an instrument to resolve our disputes and to resolve our differences. That is the path that the Government wants to call all citizens, and that path cannot be hindered by acts of violence.” In the same line, he added that “this weekend the country has witnessed two unfortunate acts of violence: what happened on the Pius Nono Bridge, which we deeply regret, and the murder yesterday of a worker, with weapons of war, in the commune of Collipulli.” Both facts are not only regrettable, but we also have to condemn them and we express our congratulations because the institutions have reacted promptly, generating investigations, institutional procedures, to clearly determine who is responsible for these facts,” he added. The interior holder argued that “it is these institutions that will express the state’s resolution. If there are culprits, if they were committed wrongdoing, they will establish the sanctions.” For the same reason, the Secretary of State called on “all sectors not to prejudge, but to condemn violence very strongly.” Pérez noted that “the Government reiterates its support to Carabineros of Chile in the performance of its duty, and that such compliance must always be done with respect to the laws, the Constitution and the orders given to them.” If someone inside Carabineros walked away from the law, protocols, instructions, he will certainly have to be sanctioned by institutionality, by institutional mechanisms,” the authority said. The minister said that “support for Carabineros is critical, particularly since we want to reach October 25 with a quiet country (…) I call on everyone to contribute to the voice of the ballot box that matters and not the voice of violence.” Finally, he reaffirmed the “willingness not only to support Carabineros but to speed up the process of reforming Carabineros,” calling on all sectors of society to “work to solve problems.”

Original source in Spanish