The Chilean Senate on Monday approved the constitutional impeachment against former judge Antonio Ulloa Márquez for “marked abandonment of his duties” and other irregularities revealed during the investigation into the scandal. Audio status. The majority of senators voted in favor of the three acts of impeachment, and the jurist was removed from his position as judge of the Santiago Court of Appeal, barred from exercising public office for five years, and his 36-year career in the judiciary ended.
The 61-year-old lawyer was held responsible for transmitting information from agreements and courts to the influential criminal lawyer Luis Hermosilla, the protagonist of the novel. Audio status Which was unveiled in November 2023; – Not to interfere in judicial appointments and promotions, and not to remove him in cases in which he was close to those involved.
Ulloa was suspended from his duties as judge, but remained in office because on September 30, the Supreme Court did not meet the quorum necessary to remove him. This paved the way for socialist representatives Daniel Manouchehri and Daniela Ciccardini to promote a constitutional accusation against the human rights activist.
Until the end of this week, uncertainty continued due to the possibility of not achieving the required quorum, as happened in the Supreme Court. But the constitutional accusation was supported by an overwhelming majority of both the ruling party and the opposition. The first chapter of libel, which refers to “failure to perform the duty of reserve,” was supported by 44 of the 47 senators present at the oath. The second proposal, which accused Ulloa of bias in some cases, received 27 votes in favour, eight against, and eight abstentions. The last, related to interference in appointments, was supported by 30 parliamentarians, compared to seven who opposed and eight who abstained from voting.
On Sunday, Janet Jara, candidate of the Left and Christian Democratic Party, asked to vote in favor of the constitutional impeachment. He wrote on his account on the website On Saturday, Evelyn Mathe, standard bearer of the traditional right, noted on this social network that “the whole of Chile will be watching what happens on Monday in the Senate, with regard to Minister Ulloa,” and asked the National Prosecutor, Angel Valencia, to consider “the urgent appointment of a special prosecutor to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the new possible corruption network in justice.” Meanwhile, the parliamentary and presidential candidate for the National Liberation Party, Johannes Kaiser, had voted in the House of Representatives, at the end of last October, in favor of dismissing the judge.
“Political vendetta”
Before entering the Senate session, Ulloa assured reporters in Congress that he was calm because he was convinced that he was not negligent in his duties and that he had already been punished by the Supreme Court, referring to the disciplinary measures that were applied to him, such as suspending his position for two months and reducing his salary. He said: “I am convinced that this constitutional accusation is a political vendetta in which the defendants logically participate.” He accused Representatives Manouchehri and Ciccardini of being behind this.
“I cannot say I was not reckless, but I am not part of any corruption network,” Ulloa said.
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