Chile's Justice Minister Faces Constitutional Accusation Over Sentence Reductions

Justice Minister Fernando Rabat is facing a constitutional accusation over decree-based sentence reductions that benefited 56 people convicted of sexual crimes against minors and human rights violations. The controversy has placed Rabat at the center of a growing political crisis for President José Antonio Kast's government.

President Kast acknowledged an error but continues to back Rabat, saying the minister acted within the law and retains his confidence. He also urged the opposition to file the accusation without further delay, stating that prolonging the process revictimizes abuse victims.

“That present the constitutional accusation. We have been a week and a half, two weeks, between whether they will present the accusation, whether they will not present it. Well, if they have doubts about how many votes they have, let them present it, but let us not prolong an issue that causes enormous pain to people.”

Opposition party presidents and parliamentary leaders met with lawyers on Thursday to advance the arguments for the accusation, though they have not set a date for filing it. Socialist Party lawmaker Raúl Leiva said the bloc is working responsibly and will announce the filing publicly when ready.

The government's parliamentary spokesperson, Gonzalo Arenas, defended Rabat by saying he applied a flawed law and that ministers should be judged by reality rather than political images. He also called a video involving undersecretary Luis Silva a serious and reckless error.

President Kast has ruled out a cabinet reshuffle, insisting that only the President decides on ministerial continuity. Some lawmakers from the ruling Chile Vamos coalition have nonetheless called for stronger political leadership amid the controversy.

The PDG party, whose 14 deputies could determine whether the opposition reaches the 78 votes needed, has not yet announced its position. Polls published on November 1 showed 72 percent of respondents reject Rabat's continued tenure.