The Chilean Chamber of Deputies has approved this Friday a new extension of the state of emergency in the South Macrozone for an additional 15 days due to the violence in the regions of La Araucanía and Biobío.
The extension, which is the fourteenth one promoted by the Government of Gabriel Boric since last May, has been supported by 77 votes in favor, 36 against and 25 abstentions, and will now have to be validated by the Senate, as reported by the newspaper ‘La Tercera’.
During the session, the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá Morales, has assured that the government is not inventing «any number» in the face of criticism from different deputies for the approval of a new extension before the last one expires on December 27.
«Police statistics say that from May to December in the area under state of emergency we have 42 percent less violent actions than last year. However, it does not mean that there are no violent actions,» he defended, according to the newspaper.
The Chilean Executive announced in mid-May the imposition of a state of emergency in the Southern Macrozone, thus allowing the Chilean military to «guard routes and roads» to deal with the situation of violence in La Araucanía, the Chilean region with the highest concentration of Mapuche indigenous people.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
