«A Pandora’s Box is About to Open in La Araucanía»: Congressional Candidate Warns of Corruption in Right-Wing Politics

Original article: “Se va a abrir una caja de Pandora en La Araucanía”: candidato a diputado alerta corrupción en la derecha

The former regional councilor and current green regionalist candidate for congress in District 23, Daniel Sandoval, raised alarms this Thursday about corruption involving right-wing political figures, including former governor of La Araucanía Region, Luciano Rivas (Ind-Pro Evópoli).

«There is a Pandora’s box that is going to open, which needs to be thoroughly investigated because the credibility of the region and its regional government is at stake,» he stated during an interview on La Mañanera, hosted by El Ciudadano’s Director, Javier Pineda Olcay.

«I experienced a segment of the Regional Council under Luciano Rivas as the council president, and it was challenging to establish processes for participation and transparency that weren’t solely tied to the governor’s position but also involved the Regional Council itself. For instance, we were one of the few regional councils that did not broadcast its sessions live online. There was a lot of omission and silence; no one wanted to open that door for the community to monitor and track regional investments with just one click,» he recounted.

Sandoval went on to discuss his involvement in audits related to the Mining Royalty, «which are resources allocated to regional governments but that this administration failed to utilize by not calling for applications.»

Corruption Acts by Ex-Congressman Mauricio Ojeda

Sandoval also addressed the scandal stemming from the Convention Case, «which involves what the current governor (René) Saffirio has recently presented to the Prosecutor’s Office regarding training programs that were never carried out for the region’s most vulnerable entrepreneurs. This is known as the ‘Manicure Case,’ referring to a division chief, Susan Alarcón Rubilar, who is currently in preventive custody, alongside Deputy Mauricio Ojeda, who has been imprisoned for almost a year, and a series of other officials under investigation that demonstrate a significant assault on the regional assets of one of the poorest and most disadvantaged regions in the country.»

«This is a delicate and complex issue, and we obviously hope this situation progresses and all the truths are revealed,» he emphasized.

Commenting on the case involving the expelled Deputy Ojeda (formerly of the Republican Party), he recalled that he conducted his entire electoral campaign under banners of anti-corruption, transparency, integrity, and sanctions for misuse of public resources, only to find himself embroiled in a full investigatory process concerning how funds were misallocated and projects awarded using insider information, influence peddling, and conversations with regional government officials. Nevertheless, he managed to secure a loan from one of the consulting firms that previously won the funds but did not execute those resources.

«There seems to be a triangle of involvement among the regional government, the parliament member, and the consulting firm, and it will be up to the Public Ministry to determine responsibilities—this represents a tremendous impact (…) At the end of our Regional Council term, those awarded this project were calling, messaging via WhatsApp, asking, ‘What is going on with our project that isn’t being executed?’ These were resources intended to improve employment rates in the region through training in various trades and activities for those lacking income opportunities,» the former regional councilor remembered.

«The Damage to La Araucanía’s Heritage and Public Trust is Enormous»

In the La Mañanera interview, Sandoval asserted that the «damage to the heritage and public trust of La Araucanía Region is tremendous,» pointing out the new findings submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office by current governor Saffirio after five months of an external audit of the financial management under right-wing governor Luciano Rivas from 2022 to 2024, which revealed over 77 billion pesos that had not been accounted for by December 2024.

He also recalled that one of the most troubling actions linked to Rivas involved a transfer of 2 billion pesos to the Local Foundation, represented legally by Hector Troncoso Triviño, a personal friend of the former governor.

«There is a friendship connection, and photos that surfaced at the time show familial relationships with the Local Foundation. Furthermore, the Convention Case, which is currently under investigation here in the region, raises high expectations regarding the attention that the Public Ministry must give; the former governor (Rivas) has yet to be summoned or cited despite being designated as an indicted party,» he commented.

«He holds both political and administrative responsibilities, but it is worth noting that he signed an exempt resolution in 2022, delegating responsibility to the division heads. One could interpret that this indicates premeditation, orchestration, or intention, where he absolves himself of responsibility and delegates it to the division heads. This is concerning, and we are urging the Public Ministry for urgency in this matter, especially from the anti-corruption prosecutor, who must advance this process that has already taken nearly two years without any sign of summoning or citing ex-governor Rivas, who is supported here in our region by a parliamentary bloc from the right, including Gloria Naveillán (National Libertarian Party), Miguel Mellado (Ex RN), Andrés Jouannet (Yellow for Chile), and Stephan Schubert (Ind-Republican Party), along with numerous other legislators who are supposed guardians of integrity in the region, yet have remained completely silent on this case,» he criticized.

«A Pandora’s Box is About to Open in La Araucanía»

In the interview, the congressional candidate for District 22 also recalled that Luciano Rivas, who was defeated in the last regional elections by the current regional governor René Saffirio, was backed by Chile Vamos, RN, the UDI, Evópoli, the Republican Party, Yellow, and the entire political sector that exercises economic and political control in the region, which has consistently governed La Araucanía with a broad vote from the local community granting them a mandate to represent our region.

«In this case, it seems that the internet has run out; they are all silent, nobody is speaking, and it is unfortunate to see a specific stance taken on other investigated cases related to integrity, but in this particular instance linked to the Regional Development Fund, for drinking water, roads, housing, productive promotion, land acquisition, and training, there is an absolute silence, likely to protect certain interests, friendships, and connections,» he criticized.

Sandoval indicated that the audit conducted on Rivas’s administration identified a «network of contacts» involving universities, corporations, foundations, and a productive economic sector that «leveraged resources from the Regional Government and were active in the entire campaign for the former governor.»

«A Pandora’s box is set to open, and this needs thorough investigation,» he stressed.

He highlighted the sensitivity of the situation, as it involves competitive projects from the Regional Government «where food packages were also distributed using these funds during the electoral period, alongside several mayors, with some regional councilors leveraging resources with these projects to deliver food packages, essentially awarding these funds by name,» he commented.

«Where were these packages bought? Who received them? How were they awarded? These inquiries are part of the ongoing audit and the insights delivered by Governor Saffirio to the Public Ministry, aimed at complementing the ongoing investigation by the anti-corruption prosecutor, demanding the urgency to conclude this pause in the investigation of something so scandalous, which we dare to classify as one of the largest corruption acts in the history of our region,» Daniel Sandoval asserted.

On the broadcast of Thursday, November 13, La Mañanera also featured an analysis of the guilty verdict against former PDI General Director, Héctor Espinosa.

You can watch the full interview with Daniel Sandoval and the rest of the program content below: