‘Rabat must go’ – Chilean women demand Justice Minister's resignation over reduced sentences for sex offenders
Key Takeaways
- Hundreds gathered outside La Moneda Palace in Santiago, demanding the resignation of Justice Minister Fernando Rabat.
- The controversy concerns 56 people convicted of sexual offences against minors, including 27 convicted of sexual abuse and 29 of rape.
- President José Antonio Kast acknowledged the sentence reductions were a mistake but refused to dismiss Rabat.
Hundreds of women protested outside Chile's presidential palace, demanding accountability after 56 people convicted of sexual offences against minors received reduced sentences and were released.
Hundreds of women took to the streets of Santiago on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of Chile's Justice Minister Fernando Rabat over reduced sentences and the release of 56 people convicted of sexual offences against minors.
The demonstrators gathered at Plaza de la Constitución, outside La Moneda Palace, calling on President José Antonio Kast and his government to take responsibility for the decisions.
Of the 56 people released, 27 had been convicted of sexual abuse and 29 of rape.
The protest also reflected anger over reduced sentences for people convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet between 1973 and 1990.
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Journalist Agueda Saez, who joined the demonstration, said Rabat should resign rather than wait for possible constitutional action against him.
'Rabat must go. There is nothing more to discuss. The minister must face up to this. The President should too, but the President went to Spain. But Rabat signed; Rabat is the one who must face up to it and resign, because otherwise the constitutional accusation will remove him anyway,' said journalist Agueda Saez, who took part in the demonstration.
Another protester, Martina Carreno, criticised President Kast for approving decrees signed by the Justice Minister.
She called for wider public opposition to the sentence reductions and urged other organisations to speak out.
'The President of the Republic has already given his approval twice to the decrees signed by Minister Rabat and, genuinely, I think it should be an outrage across the whole population,' she said.
The controversy has increased pressure on the Chilean government, with demonstrators demanding greater transparency and accountability over the decisions.
Rabat's continued position as Justice Minister has also faced criticism.
In October, President Kast acknowledged that the state had failed the victims and described the sentence reductions involving 56 people convicted of sexual offences against minors as a mistake.
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However, he ruled out dismissing Rabat and confirmed that the minister would remain in office.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
