Chile approves impeachment trial against President Sebastian Pinera

BOGOTA, Colombia

Chile's Chamber of Deputies approved an impeachment trial on Tuesday against President Sebastian Pinera for his involvement in the controversial sale of a mining company through a firm owned by his children, the Pandora Papers revealed.

The impeachment was approved after almost 22 hours of debate in the lower house of Congress, which gave time for lawmaker Giorgio Jackson to complete a coronavirus quarantine to cast his vote.

Key opposition lawmaker Jaime Naranjo took 15 hours on the floor Monday to read from the 1,300-page accusation against the president.

“I can speak for 72 or 92 hours, five days,” Naranjo said last week. “If this is about accusing Pinera and ​​in order to move forward the constitutional accusation, I can speak for a month.”

It was not until 8 a.m. Tuesday that deputies voted 78 - 67, with three abstentions, for the trial.

The sale of the Dominga mining company for $152 million is linked to the Pinera’s family, a report that led the prosecutor's office to open an investigation concerning "bribery and eventual tax crimes,” according to information contained in the Pandora Papers -- nearly 12 million documents and three terabytes of data published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalist that revealed secret offshore accounts of current and former world leaders, billionaires and celebrities.

The sale in the Virgin Islands was made to one of Pinera's closest friends in 2010, during his previous term as president.

"Acting as president, he benefited (himself) and his family directly with information that he had in the exercise of his office. And he continued negotiating and raised the price of Dominga," said Naranjo.

An unpopular Pinera argues that he was already acquitted of the charges in 2017.

Pinera will be able to continue his responsibilities while he prepares his defense before the Senate, where impeachment requires two-thirds of the chamber instead of a simple majority, which seems unlikely.

The president’s term will end in March.