This Tuesday, after the Senate Human Rights Commission postponed the vote three times— Rosario Martínez, as a candidate to direct the Ombudsman for Children However, now he has to face a complicated scenario in the room. And it is that although during the administration of former President Sebastián Piñera the former director of Cenam had the support of the majority of the above example, with three opposition votes, he now has to wake up the sponsorship of 2/3 members of the Upper House, how many people “difficult ” see as.
Martínez was nominated among 12 candidates who applied for the contest, and the definition from the beginning was marked by ups and downs. Even though in several sessions parliamentarians tried to reach a consensus on the name, they failed, as the pro-government representatives who made up the commission refused to support it.
Thus, the RN’s militant also only received support from right-wing MPs: Enrique van Rysselberghe (UDI), Francisco Chauhan (rn)y Maria Jose Gatica (RN), who was substituting for Carlos Kuchel (RN). For his part, Gaston Saavedra (PS) supported the former deputy Natalia Castillo and Senator Fabiola Campillai voted in favor of (IND) Anur Kusile,
The process seeks to nominate the person who will lead the institution headed by Patricia Muñoz, who will leave office on May 31. The foregoing, since according to the law, the term of the ombudsman for children is up to five years.
Despite having a majority on the commission, the sociologist would not have enough support to garner the 33 votes needed for ratification into office. That’s because, according to sources familiar with the process, third, His many credentials do not convince the ruling party, In fact, in these areas they insist that the ideal candidate would be the former independent deputy of the Broad Front – Natalia Castillo.
In this regard, Senator Van Rysselbergh said that although the ideal would be to reach a memorandum of understanding, he hoped that his colleagues would “study the background of this proposal in depth and vote with the well-being of children and adolescents in mind, and is not a partisan political criterion,
Despite this, Saavedra insisted that Martínez “does not have the votes of the socialist bench, because we believe that He is not the most suitable candidate to go in this direction, there are other capabilities that have to be analyzed. Unfortunately, political affiliation matters a lot in this method, but we’ll have to keep looking between the candidates,
But apart from the fact that they do not consider him suitable for the post, the lack of agreement – according to people close to the ruling party – may also have been because The Chilean Vamos MPs would have asked him to support him in the next nomination in return for doing so which the executive must do, For example, about the Ministers of the Supreme Court, the Comptroller and the Judicial Prosecutor, which the Left did not like and put more emphasis on the environment.
In any case, senator Matthias walker the appointment to this post “cannot follow the dynamics of the government and the opposition. It is like appointing a national prosecutor or a minister of the Supreme Court. You have to think of the best. There are many good names for the post, one of them Carlos Alvear, who was High Commissioner for Children in the government of President Bachelet. According to her honesty, her candidate is Natalia Castillo, although she admits that she will support the name proposed by the commission.
However, Francisco Chahuán, who presides over DD.HH insisted that “Maria Rosario Martínez has all the requirements to be designated as protector of children. She was the director of CENAM and was aware of the vulnerability of our children and adolescents. Very aware.
The process to appoint a new Children’s Ombudsman began in mid-March before the end of Patricia Muñoz’s term. Since then, and after the nomination of 27 candidates, the Human Rights Commission developed a series of steps until the vote was reached. However, This Tuesday’s event was postponed three times due to a lack of agreement to find a consensus name., according to the same lawmakers expressed in the session. Something that was not achieved even on this occasion.
Initially, according to sources familiar with the talks, the one who garnered the most support was the family judge. Monica gelders may have lost support due to “excessive lobbying” – as they describe it – through letters to the commission or various samples of public support. To which are added questions about the approval process that remains open in the judiciary.
However, it has not been possible to have a name with the necessary support throughout the process. something that is in the opinion of the senator Pedro Araya, ideal given the situation “there should be a consensus about who should be the next protector of her or the children. I haven’t made up my vote, I’m studying the background and we hope The arguments of the Commission on why this vote was given will be heard.
Despite this, the independent Senator-PPD believes it is the most prudent thing to do if one does not get enough support. “It would have been to declare the contest void and call for a new one, as there is no point in making the candidates aware of the fact that they will not have a majority in the room. In that sense, perhaps it would have been better to expand the contest, giving opportunities to other people who may not have wanted to attend in the first place.
Though it is more than difficult for this scenario, as per the rules, the commission can propose that it be declared void if it is believed that there are no suitable candidates.
“From this October 1, 2022, Rosario Martinez introduces her involuntary resignation As National Director of CENAM”. The previous message was published via Instagram from the account of the then official, who was requested to resign by then Justice Minister Marcela Ríos at the end of September last year.
Martínez, who was the first director of CENAM appointed through Senior Public Management, assumed the said position in October 2020, a position she held for two years. During the institution’s period in charge, the transfer to the National Service for the Special Protection of Children and Adolescents, known as Major Ninez, began. In addition, he created the CENAM Human Rights Unit, as well as implementing the organization’s first LGBTIQ+ policy.
Despite that, Catholic University Sociologist Had Some Difficult Moments In the office, such as when two minors were injured in November 2020 during an incident with Carabineros officers in the Cenam de Talcahuano.
Martinez, who also has a master’s degree in economics and public policy from Adolfo Ibáñez University, has developed a large part of her career in crime prevention programs, yes as well as in the social reintegration of children and adolescents there was something during her presentation to the commission that was notable enough to nominate her this Tuesday.
Before directing CENAM, the professional work in the security departments of the municipalities of Lo Barnescia and Providencia, in addition to Headed the Department of Programs and Studies of the Under Secretary for Crime Prevention During the second government of Sebastián Piñera. Currently, she is a partner of the consultancy Espaço Libre.
for senator Carin Bianchi (India), it is precisely his past that “makes noise for him. “I don’t feel like someone directing Cenam, which is a very bad experience, is applying for the Children’s Ombudsman today. However, I will listen to the plan that she presents to the Senate. I’m sorry this is always so political and it becomes a partisan vote instead of a real vote. I’ll wait to see your plan, but your experience at Senam doesn’t satisfy me.”
This Wednesday the nomination of Rosario Martinez will be tabled, who, if ratified, will assume office as Ombudsman for Children on June 1. Otherwise, the Human Rights Commission must propose another name for the Upper House to vote on. This, is while Patricia Muñoz leaves the position she has held for the past five years by becoming the children’s first protector.
