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El Ciudadano

Original article: Dos proyectos, vínculos previos y un mecanismo sin actas: oposición activa comisión para investigar a Quiroz

The controversy surrounding Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz has intensified following the announcement from the opposition to form a Special Investigative Commission (CEI) to scrutinize his management. This initiative, led by deputies from the Frente Amplio, Socialist Party, Communist Party, the Party for Democracy, Christian Democracy, and Liberal Party, aims to clarify potential conflicts of interest linked to the accelerating of environmental permits by the administration of José Antonio Kast.

The decision follows two investigative reports by CIPER that raise questions about the transparency of the Secretary of State, directly linking him to projects that allegedly received preferential treatment despite having negative assessments from the National Service of Geology and Mining (Sernageomin), a situation that has alarmed Congress.

The investigation focuses on the Alto Santorini real estate project, located in the municipality of Concón, which represents an investment of approximately $43.6 million. The controversy deepened with the revelation that Víctor Quiroz, the minister’s brother, is a partner in this initiative, which has raised ethical concerns.

Víctor Quiroz not only serves as the lead architect through his firm Quiroz y Puelma Arquitectos, but also acts as a lobbyist and owns a significant share of the project. According to records from the Official Diary, the entrepreneur is part of a company with his wife and children that controls 50% of another firm, which in turn owns 24% of the Alto Santorini project, making the Quiroz family stakeholders in 12% of the initiative.

This environmental review has not been straightforward. The evaluation process for the Alto Santorini project faced numerous suspensions and delays, including a halt in 2023 due to a sinkhole in Reñaca that lasted until July 2024, when the company submitted new documentation to the Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA) of Valparaíso.

The environmental approval, granted on July 8, coincided with the period when Jorge Quiroz was already serving as minister, raising suspicions about possible influence. This scenario is further complicated by reports that during the deliberation process, eleven institutions raised concerns and that Víctor Quiroz held multiple meetings with regional authorities, including one in June with Manuel Millones, the presidential delegate of Valparaíso and chairman of the Evaluation Commission that approved the project.

One key point of contention stems from Sernageomin, whose concerns about the site’s safety were dismissed by the SEA of Valparaíso. The agency warned of «a risk of mass removals including landslides, collapses, and rockfalls,» stating that it could not discount risks to the population. However, the SEA chose not to consider this warning, arguing that «geomorphology is not a protected object in the SEIA» and that mass removals are «a natural phenomenon that can be exacerbated by human action, but whose trigger lies in natural conditions.»

The second project that raised alarms is the production plant for potassium salts in the Salar de Atacama, developed by the Errázuriz Group, a company for which Minister Jorge Quiroz acted as a consultant through Quiroz & Associates.

Deputy Bassa: «Quiroz’s Actions Raise Concerns About Transparency and Integrity»

For Deputy Jaime Bassa (FA), one of the proponents of establishing the Investigative Commission, the allegations are serious, stating that “Minister Quiroz’s actions are raising serious doubts about the transparency and integrity of some of his actions, which could indicate influence peddling or even conflicts of interest.”

“We have learned of the approval of two projects lacking technical support, in which the minister faces potential conflicts of interest,” he asserted in remarks covered by Diario U. de Chile.

He noted that although under Quiroz’s direction the Ministry of Finance has created new mechanisms to expedite permit acquisition, “there are no minutes or documents that account for agreements, possible recommendations, or other information that should be public.”

The opposition is scrutinizing the new monitoring system and a SEIA Projects Committee coordinated from the Ministry of Finance that facilitated the approval of the Alto Santorini project. According to deputies, this committee, made up of several undersecretariats, lacks minutes and public records of its sessions, prioritization criteria, and agreements, preventing transparency regarding the bases for its decisions.

This «modus operandi» without transparency extends to the Errázuriz Group project in the Salar de Atacama, where minutes and records are also missing, despite the pre-existing connections of Minister Quiroz, who worked as a consultant for that company.

Through the establishment of the CEI, opposition lawmakers aim not only to clarify irregularities in the processing of these two projects but also to investigate the overall functioning of the SEIA Projects Committee to determine if irregularities were documented. The committee is expected to examine the prioritization criteria used, the reasons behind the lack of minutes and public records, and the minister’s direct involvement in the decisions.

At the same time, according to the cited media, the compliance with obligations of integrity, abstention, and interest declaration of both Quiroz and his closest advisors will also be reviewed, in an effort to clear doubts surrounding the integrity of Kast’s government in environmental management and conflicts of interest.

La entrada Opposition Activates Investigation Commission to Examine Controversial Actions of Finance Minister Quiroz se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.