Turbulencia en el Poder Judicial: alto cargo del Congreso considera respaldar proceso legal contra magistrado de prestigio

Turmoil in the Judiciary: Senior Congressional Official Considers Supporting Legal Process Against Respected Magistrate

During the morning of this Tuesday, the second vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, Eric Aedo (DC), addressed the drafting of a constitutional action that he will promote against Supreme Court Justice Jean Pierre Matus, who received political support from lawyer Luis Hermosilla upon his arrival at the highest court.

Announcement of the accusatory document was made by Aedo after the head of the Socialist deputies’ bloc, Daniel Melo, mentioned following an officialist meeting with the DC that a constitutional accusation against Supreme Court Justice Angela Vivanco -also implicated in the Audio case- would preliminarily be presented, and later they would evaluate a similar action against Matus.

This irritated the falangist committee, as Melo even described Matus’ alleged lie about his relationship with Hermosilla as a “moral fault.”

In a conversation with Tele13 Radio, the DC deputy discussed the situation. “I believe we are facing the biggest crisis of a state power, in this case, the judiciary, in the last 34 years. I mean, what is happening in the judiciary is truly brutal. It is brutal because, ultimately, today it is being called into question, not only in public opinion, which is most important, but also I ask myself, well, how are Supreme Court justices voting? Are they truly delivering justice? Are they acting impartially? Because up to now the impression remains that they act with bias, that they vote according to interest groups, who have contact or access to them, and that seems extremely serious,” he stated on the radio program.

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“That calls into question a state power, which is justice, the foundation of our democratic system, the Rule of Law, and if that is ultimately destroyed, democracy is destroyed, and a new democratic system is opened, a scenario that I find truly catastrophic,” he added.

Asked if he would support the accusatory document being pursued by the right against the same magistrate (Vivanco) and Judge Sergio Muñoz, who – although not implicated in the Hermosilla case leaks – is under investigation by the Ethics Commission of the Supreme Court for leaking a ruling to his daughter related to the purchase of apartments.

“I support Vivanco’s case and if Muñoz’s situation is clear-cut and there are more elements, I have no problem moving forward and supporting that constitutional accusation,” he replied.

Furthermore, he added: “The crisis we are experiencing today should not be framed as a left-wing, right-wing, or centrist fight. It needs to be seen as an institutional crisis that requires a democratic, well-handled solution, and to make the decisions we need to make… No matter who falls.”