Allegations Uncover Clan Lavín’s Use of Confidential Public Information for Private Gain

Original article: Denuncian cómo el Clan Lavín habría usado información confidencial de instituciones públicas para fines privados

Revelations suggest a triangulation of confidential information from municipalities and the Electoral Service (Servel) to a polling firm linked to the Lavín family.

Investigative journalist Patricio Mery exposed a web of financial misconduct and influence peddling during his appearance on the program Sentido Común!, hosted by Javier Pineda. According to the information presented in the El Ciudadano segment, strategic state databases were allegedly used for commercial and political campaign purposes by companies owned by the children of Joaquín Lavín Infante.

The main focus of the case lies in the operations of Social Task and the polling firm Panel Ciudadano, the latter associated with the Universidad del Desarrollo and owned by siblings Juan Pablo and María Estela Lavín León, along with their brother-in-law Eugenio Guzmán. The scheme involved transferring highly sensitive and confidential information from citizens to these private entities for economic exploitation.

«The social records used in Maipú during Catthy Barriga’s tenure as mayor, and those created in Las Condes when De la Maza was mayor, mysteriously ended up in the hands of Panel Ciudadano,» Mery stated, detailing that this setup relied on the Social Home Registry. Additionally, there was an internal leak from the Electoral Service (Servel), which allowed the polling firm to access confidential data protected by law, making it inaccessible to traditional measurement approaches.

This commercial scheme also implicates former deputy Joaquín Lavín León, who allegedly used congressional advisory positions for his father’s benefit. Mery revealed that during the 2021 presidential campaign, five aides hired by the Chamber of Deputies worked simultaneously for the ex-mayor’s candidacy, with Lavín reportedly pocketing a portion of the funds for these services.

Given the severity of these allegations, the journalist indicated that the historical strategy of the right-wing bloc is already underway to mitigate the collateral damage in the political sector. «What my sources tell me is that Joaquín Lavín Sr. has already been called to testify as an implicated party,» the investigator stated, adding that arrangements for this judicial testimony are currently being made.

This internal crisis coincides with an underground power struggle among the so-called ‘colonels’ of the party and Republican members over control of right-wing hegemony. The silence and withdrawal of figures like Andrés Chadwick and Pablo Longueira will be crucial in determining the level of isolation Lavín Sr. will face in court.

Watch the full interview on Sentido Común!:

El Ciudadano.