El Ciudadano
Original article: Mientras Cicardini pide la renuncia de Quiroz, Vodanovic le pone piso al ministro del bencinazo
Cicardini Calls for Quiroz’s Resignation Amid Fuel Price Controversy, Vodanovic Defends the Minister
“Kast’s fuel price hike is a blow to the wallets of Chileans,” said Senator Daniella Cicardini, accusing Minister Quiroz of making life more expensive for families with a political decision that had alternatives.
In the midst of discussions surrounding the emergency measures project addressing the historic rise in fuel prices, the senator from Atacama, Daniella Cicardini, fiercely questioned Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz and called for his resignation. However, Paulina Vodanovic, the president of the Socialist Party (PS), chose not to support the critique and instead sought to distance the party from Cicardini while defending the most scrutinized minister in Kast’s cabinet.
During her address in the Senate Chamber, Cicardini was blunt: “Kast’s fuel price hike is a blow to the wallets of Chileans.” She accused Minister Quiroz of raising the cost of living for families due to a political decision with alternatives, and reminded viewers of his connection to the collusion cases involving poultry and pharmacies. “You have a pattern; whenever Jorge Quiroz appears, it costs people more to live,” she asserted.
The senator further denounced the existence of a confidential government memo designed to present a favorable narrative about the price increase. “While families are juggling to make ends meet, you are juggling to manage the narrative,” she criticized.
“For the good of Chile, take a step back. Resign, Minister. Accept your responsibility,” she concluded.
However, the response did not come from the government but from the president of her own party. Vodanovic took the floor to distance the Socialist caucus from Cicardini’s criticisms. “As president of the Socialist Party, I want to emphasize that the opinion of Deputy Cicardini is not shared by the rest of the caucus,” she stated, referring to the senator as “deputy,” which was interpreted in the Chamber as an attempt to undermine her.
While other opposition parties (Frente Amplio, Communist Party, DC, and PPD) rallied against the government for the $370 increase in gasoline and $580 in diesel, and even some within the ruling party privately questioned Quiroz’s management, Vodanovic chose to correct the senator who demanded the resignation of the minister overseeing the fuel price hike.
In that context, Cicardini responded through her social media: “I am a senator. The socialist senator with the most public support. What I said stands, and I will repeat it as many times as necessary. Minister Quiroz is raising the cost of living in Chile and hitting the wallets of thousands of families. While some are busy trying to cushion the government of Kast, which has the Chilean people queuing at gas stations, unsure how they will make ends meet, I will not be distracted by internal disputes. The discussion is with an unfeeling minister and a government that harms the country. I stand with the people.”
This episode leaves Vodanovic in a difficult position to explain. At a moment when all the opposition pointed fingers at Quiroz for the most significant financial strain on families in decades, the PS president chose to undermine a senator who dared to call for his resignation. Cicardini, on the other hand, made it clear where her loyalties lie.
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