Meanwhile, the media treatment of the Monsalve debacle keeps heating up. From several angles now it seems like Tohá is trying to mount a defense to save her own political skin and reverse the abysmal (dis)approval of her office and performance, even if it means making her boss, Boric, look bad.
A look at the story in Ex-Ante, “Boric’s Darkest Day Since the Beginning of the Monsalve Affair”
My translation:
The latest political and judicial revelations about the former undersecretary have landed the case on the president’s own desk. In addition to Minister Tohá’s statements to the Public Prosecutor’s Office that she was not consulted by Boric on the most controversial decisions, there was the revelation that he informed his most trusted advisors, Miguel Crispi and his chief of staff, Carlos Durán, of the complaint before speaking to Monsalve. In addition, the complainant [victim] stated that one of the first people she went to tell about what had happened at the Panamericano Hotel was the sociologist Camilo Araneda, a close friend of the President.
What to watch: On Tuesday afternoon it was reported that the Chilean Air Force Boeing 767 aircraft that was to have transported President Boric from Brazil back to Chile, suffered a malfunction, so the delegation had to be changed to a smaller replacement aircraft
That was the end of a five-day tour of Lima and Rio de Janeiro where Boric participated in the APEC 2024 Forum and as a guest at the G20 Summit and held several bilateral meetings. His international agenda, unlike in other conflicts, was far from overlapping with the Monsalve case, probably his worst crisis since becoming president
With the arrest of the former undersecretary on Thursday and the start of his hearing the following day, pieces of the judicial case and the testimony of the main witnesses started to be revealed, escalating a problem that seems to have no limits at the presidential palace and now the crisis has settled on the office of President Boric himself.
Interior Minister Tohá now blames Boric for the most controversial decisions in the case. In her judicial declaration - made on 30 October before prosecutor Armendáriz - Tohá stated that she was not informed of, nor involved in, the most controversial decisions in the case, and that she attributed these to President Boric.
“Let me make it clear that I did not participate in that meeting and I had no further details about what they discussed,” Tohá said about the meeting held on 15 October at 8 pm between Monsalve and Boric, to discuss the [sexual assault] complaint
Tohá: "On Wednesday 16, I tried to contact Mr Monsalve to arrange the conversation that the President had defined, but that was not possible. When I informed the President of this, he told me that Monsalve was down south, since President Boric he had instructed Monsalve to go and discuss the matter with [the family of the victim]. "
Monsalve’s trip to the south is now one of the most controversial of the case regarding why the undersecretary was authorized to travel at all, and even using government aircraft, after which he resumed his normal work schedule on Thursday (until the investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office was leaked to media [La Segunda]).
Regarding the meeting on the 17th at 2 pm where Boric asked him to resign, Tohá said that the President “instructed him to immediately inform the press before leaving the presidential palace.” This gesture, presenting his resignation in the courtyard there, supplied an opportunity for Monsalve to claim his innocence, and this has been criticized as providing privileged treatment for the former undersecretary. Tohá’s full statement was published on Monday by [media outlet T13], triggering major convulsion at the presidential palace on Tuesday.
The article goes on to describe how Boric’s testimony is being increasingly viewed as inconsistent and essentially full of holes. The rest of the new story can be found at the media site:
https://www.ex-ante.cl/el-dia-mas-negro-de-boric-desde-que-se-inicio-el-caso-monsalve/
Edit 20 November:
Judge orders jail for Monsalve. Pre-trial custody. Carabineros are concerned for his safety at the Rancagua facility. Media report he is to be in “block 86” which is reserved for those accused or convicted of sexual crimes.
The syndicate charged with working the Rancagua jail reported that the " high security" facility is anything but, citing escapes and weapons found on prisoners. Very Chilean.
