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El Ciudadano

Original article: El telefonazo de Vivanco: revelan presión para influir en concurso de conservador de Viña del Mar

Vivanco’s Phone Call Reveals Pressure to Influence Viña del Mar Land Registrar Contest

The investigation by the Supreme Court’s Ethics Committee that ultimately led to the dismissal of former minister Ángela Vivanco in 2025 has uncovered a direct intervention by the then-judge in a public competition to choose the land registrar for Viña del Mar.

According to evidence gathered by the committee and corroborated by CIPER, Vivanco contacted the Minister of the Court of Appeals in Valparaíso, Eliana Quezada, to request that she vote for notary Carlos Swett, who is the president of the Notaries and Conservators Association and a candidate for the position.

This communication, which took place in 2022, was not merely a suggestion: Vivanco urged her colleague to place Swett as second choice if she could not support him as her primary option, and to allocate her third vote to another candidate close to him, Yamil Najle, the current registrar of Chillán and implicated in the so-called «Belarusian scheme.»

Quezada’s response was firm; she informed Vivanco during the same phone call that she would not support Swett. Official records of the contest, held on September 26, 2022, confirm that the judge kept her word: in the first round of voting, her preferences were for Luis Enrique Fischer, Fernando Manterola, and Jorge Osnovikoff, leaving no space for the candidate backed by the former judge.

In the two subsequent rounds, held later that same day due to lack of agreement, Quezada did not change her stance. Swett managed to gather only eight votes to be part of the shortlist, while Fischer garnered fourteen votes, winning decisively.

Sources from the notarial community in Valparaíso indicated that the minister’s refusal was not arbitrary: her negative professional opinion about Swett was well-known, which is precisely why Vivanco may have attempted to persuade her.

The interference did not stop with that call. CIPER had previously revealed in 2024 that Gonzalo Migueles, Vivanco’s partner, also contacted Swett during the same process. Faced with evidence that the notary lacked the necessary support, Migueles reportedly suggested that he withdraw from the competition, a proposal the notary declined. Moreover, the brother of the former judge, Arturo Vivanco, worked at the Notaries and Conservators Association while Swett served as its president; his last paycheck dates back to February 2022, just five months before the contest for Viña del Mar began. The personal connections are such that the Ethics Commission described a “manifest closeness” among Vivanco, Migueles, and Swett, evidenced by social gatherings at the beach resort of Las Tacas, where other judicial operators under investigation also meet.

The investigation has transcended ethical concerns. Both Quezada and Swett testified before the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Valparaíso in late March and early April, although their testimonies remain confidential. While the minister declined to comment on her testimony, Swett confirmed that he appeared before the Public Ministry and stated publicly that he never asked Vivanco to intercede on his behalf.

Concern in the Notaries and Conservators Association

However, concern is widespread in the notarial world. Earlier in May, the board of the Notaries and Conservators Association discussed the situation of its president. According to one version, he was advised to step aside and is currently listed as “frozen” in his position, while another suggests that Swett “self-froze” to take a vacation, although he remains the head.

Discomfort grew after CIPER linked Swett to Senator RN Camila Flores, who is under investigation for alleged tax fraud, and following the revelation that the registrar himself had not officially notified the association about his judicial citation.

On Monday, May 11, the association met with the president of the Supreme Court, Gloria Ana Chevesich, but who appeared as acting president was Carlos Miranda, while Swett attended only as an additional member.

La entrada Vivanco’s Phone Call Reveals Pressure to Influence Viña del Mar Land Registrar Contest se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.