(From Santiago, Chile) Daniel Jadue, communist mayor of the Santiago commune of Recoleta that this Monday was in preventive prison accused of unfair administration, fraud, bribery and treasury fraudreceived the support none other than the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), a group that supports the president Nicolás Maduro.
Strong man of the Chilean PC and tenacious defender of the palestinian causeJadue was formalized along with two other collaborators for the so-called case “Popular Pharmacies”whose origin dates back to 2015, when he opened a pharmacy in his community with prices much lower than those of the large chains. His initiative was replicated by several mayors, thus giving life to the Chilean Association of Municipalities with Popular Pharmacies the following year. (Achifarp).
However, in 2021 the company Best Quality presented a complaint for fraud against Achifarp, accusing them of not paying them nearly USD 1 million in medical supplies. The self-report to the prosecutor’s office by a company salesperson – César Ramírez – opened a new avenue for alleged requests for payments or bribes, crimes that have been denied by the mayor’s media and that the North Central Prosecutor’s Office you will have to try.
Jadue left the court handcuffed and with his head lowered and after the decision of the Chilean justice, the PSUV issued a statement in which it affirms that the accusation is nothing more than a political persecution whose purpose is delegitimize to leftist leaders in Latin America.
From the PSUV they assured that the Chilean mayor “is a victim of the infamous strategy violation of human rights through instrumentalization of justice as a modality of political action. Trying to separate men and women who are besieged in Latin America for developing popular projects with proven positive results in the fight against poverty and inequality is despicable.”
“Today, once again, the exacerbated use of lawfare as a regional strategy to accuse without legal grounds and evidentiary to progressive leaders, promoting political persecutionwhose objective focuses on destroying his impeccable public image, with unspoiled morals and disabling his management that has the support of the popular vote, as is the case of Mayor Daniel Jadue. In this sense, we reproach the continued imposition of the judicialization of politics by sectors that represent the international neoliberal right.”
According to the document, “the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) recognizes the extraordinary political career of Mayor Jadue, having the firm conviction that the public policies developed in his Government correspond to the aspirations of the popular classespolitical actions that are rejected by retrograde sectors of the international southern right.”
Finally, they pointed out that “from the Homeland of Bolívar, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and its people transmit a message of solidarity to the community of Recoleta for the unjust detention of its mayor who we believe is innocent and we hope that justice will be imposed without ideological traits and that the human right to a fair trial will be respected, taking into consideration the existence of several failed processes against him, motivated by unfounded accusations for political purposes, and we hope that he can continue his fight for the well-being and defense of his people.”
It should be noted that, shortly before its formalization, the councilor denounced that the Prosecutor’s Office – in an act classified as “arbitrary and unconstitutional” -, he was not allowed to board a Copa airline flight that would take him to Caracas to participate in the “World Social Alternative Agenda” meeting.
The defenestrated mayor has already received signs of support and visits at the Captain Yáber penitentiary annex, where he is being held, and his defense announced that will appeal to the precautionary measure of preventive prison imposed by the court.
