Matías Toledo Confronts Gustavo Alessandri Over Request to Halt SLEP Implementation on Behalf of Municipalities

Original article: “Fuiste súper irresponsable”: Matías Toledo encara a Gustavo Alessandri por solicitar paralización de SELEP a nombre de municipios

Matías Toledo, Mayor of Puente Alto, Confronts Gustavo Alessandri, Mayor of Zapallar and AMUCH President, Over Request to Halt SLEP

A heated exchange unfolded between Matías Toledo, the Mayor of Puente Alto, and Gustavo Alessandri, the Mayor of Zapallar and President of the Association of Municipalities of Chile (AMUCH), following Alessandri’s request to the newly elected President to pause the implementation of Local Public Education Services (SLEP) while claiming to represent all municipalities across the country.

The incident was captured on video accessed by The Clinic, in which Toledo expresses his frustration towards Alessandri. In the footage, the Puente Alto mayor harshly criticizes his colleague for taking a stance that he believes does not represent the consensus among mayors.

“You were extremely irresponsible,” Toledo tells Alessandri in the video, openly questioning his ability to speak on behalf of all municipalities. He highlighted the socioeconomic disparities between their communities: “It’s easy for you because you come from a municipality with a very high per capita income, where many wealthy people live. Puente Alto does not share that reality.”

This conflict underscores the deep differences and tensions within AMUCH concerning the decentralization and establishment of SLEP, a sensitive issue that transcends political divides and roots deeply in the varying financial capabilities and realities of municipalities across the nation.

Watch the video from The Clinic