Staff Outcry Over Appointment of Patricia Arancibia Clavel to La Moneda Cultural Center Board

Original article: Transversal rechazo de funcionarios a designación de Patricia Arancibia Clavel en el directorio del Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda

There is growing discontent among staff associations within the Ministry and the Undersecretariat of Cultures following President Kast’s appointment of historian Patricia Arancibia Clavel (pictured) to the board of the La Moneda Cultural Center.

The unions Anfucultura and Anfucap issued separate statements addressing the nomination.

Anfucultura first expressed its «rejection and deep concern» regarding the appointment: «Our objection does not aim to exclude legitimate ideological differences. It is based on the background and public positions of Patricia Arancibia Clavel,» they stated.

Specifically, they recalled her «notable participation in the paramilitary collective Patriotic National Front, as well as her subsequent statements justifying the 1973 coup and downplaying the historical significance of human rights violations committed during the dictatorship.»

«What is being questioned, therefore, is her incompatibility with the institutional responsibility of integrating the governing body of a culturally significant public space,» Anfucultura emphasized.

The organization argued that «democratic pluralism involves embracing different perspectives, but within an inalienable framework of respect for democracy and human rights. Freedom of thought does not make every background suitable for any institutional responsibility.»

«This incompatibility is especially grave because the civil-military dictatorship not only violated democratic order and committed systematic human rights abuses: it also pursued, imprisoned, exiled, made disappear, and murdered artists, intellectuals, creators, and cultural workers, in addition to imposing censorship and destroying fundamental spaces of Chilean cultural life,» stated organized officials from Anfucultura.

Afucap: «Cultural Institutions Are Guardians of Memory»

In a similar vein, Afucap stated that «cultural institutions must be guardians of memory and unconditional respect for human rights.»

«Patricia Arancibia Clavel has publicly acknowledged her participation in Patria y Libertad, a far-right organization that actively opposed the government of the Popular Unity. Moreover, she has publicly maintained positions that relativize our recent history and has claimed, among other assertions, that human rights have zero historical value,» questioned Afucap workers.

They emphasized that the La Moneda Cultural Center holds a «deeply significant place in our recent history.»

«Therefore, we believe that those in charge of state cultural institutions must contribute to strengthening a democratic culture and unconditional respect for human rights, rather than relativizing or questioning the memory of the violations that occurred in our country,» Afucap reiterated.

Both organizations urged the government to reconsider the decision and to clarify the criteria used to determine the appropriateness of this choice. They also called on the Culture and Human Rights commissions of Congress to exercise their oversight powers.

We will continue to provide updates.