Chilean President Jose Antonio Caste's approval rating has fallen to 24% eight months after taking office. The Ministry of Justice's action to reduce the sentences of 56 sex offenders against minors has drawn strong public backlash, and the political burden is also increasing as President Caste insists on retaining the Attorney General in charge.
On the 8th (local time), local media Biobio Chile and Emol, the online version of daily El Mercurio, reported that President Caste's approval rating was 24%, down 1 percentage point from the previous week, citing the results of a survey by public opinion polling agency Ahenda Criteria. It has been declining for three consecutive weeks and is the lowest since the inauguration. The response that they did not support the administration of state affairs rose 2 percentage points to the highest at 67%.
The main reason for the decline in approval ratings is the controversy over the Ministry of Justice's commutation of inmate sentences.
After the Caste government was inaugurated, the Ministry of Justice reduced the sentences of 56 sex offenders against minors through an executive order. Of these, 27 were child and adolescent sexual abusers and 29 were minor rapists.
Controversy arose over the scope of application of the law related to sentence reduction for model prisoners enacted in 2003. With the revision of the law in 2022, sex offenders against minors were excluded from the reduction of sentences, but legal interpretations were conflicting as to whether the new regulations could also be applied to prisoners who committed crimes before the revision.
The Ministry of Justice explained that the decision was based on consideration of the retroactive application of the revised law and Supreme Court precedent. However, criticism grew because there was no procedure to listen to victims' opinions, and the previous government took legal action against the criminals' requests for sentence reductions.
President Kast apologized to the victims, saying the commutation of the sentence was wrong, and ordered a halt to the further commutation process and a review of the existing decision. However, Justice Minister Fernando Rabat, who signed the executive order commuting the sentence, maintained his stance that he would retain his position.
On October 28, the Chilean House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for the resignation of Minister Rabat and the Deputy Minister of Justice with 68 votes in favor, 42 against, and 7 abstentions. Although there was no decision to dismiss the minister, opposition from the ruling and opposition parties led to pressure at the parliamentary level. The opposition is also pursuing constitutional impeachment proceedings against Minister Rabat.
Prosecutors are investigating whether there were any illegal acts, such as abuse of power, during the decision to reduce the sentence.
Opinion polls also revealed distrust in the government in general.
68% of respondents said the government had little or no ability to improve the national situation. Only 20% of respondents said the government had a clear economic growth plan, 17% had an employment plan, and 16% had a security plan.
President Caste came to power with key promises of restoring public order and eradicating crime.
However, the controversy over the commutation of sentences for child sex offenders, which runs counter to the identity of this caste government, has received massive criticism, and due to the conflict surrounding the retention of the Attorney General, the government has been unable to put a stop to the decline in approval ratings that has continued since the beginning of its inauguration.
