Chile's Senate dismissed the constitutional accusation against former Energy Minister Diego Pardow after seven hours of debate. The two chapters of the impeachment, linked to electricity billing errors, were rejected with support from opposition votes. Pardow showed emotion and gratitude for the due process.
The Senate chamber rejected the two chapters of the constitutional accusation against Diego Pardow, former Energy Minister from Frente Amplio, stemming from methodological errors that caused double inflation charges on electricity bills and an issue with Transelec's asset valuation in October 2024.
The first chapter, holding him directly responsible for the tariff-setting error, received 17 votes in favor, 28 against, and one abstention. The second, regarding alleged concealment of Transelec's alert that raised rates, got 21 votes in favor, 21 against, and three abstentions, failing to meet the 25-vote quorum needed for approval.
The outcome was secured by support from senators of Renovación Nacional (RN), including Manuel José Ossandón, Francisco Chahuán, and Carmen Gloria Aravena; Sebastián Keitel from Evópoli; Matías Walker from Demócratas; and Juan Castro from the Partido Social Cristiano (PSC). The government, led by figures like Minister Macarena Lobos and Minister Álvaro Elizalde, conducted intense lobbying for this opposition shift.
Pardow, visibly moved, recalled his father, a professor dismissed during the dictatorship, and appreciated the debate's respect: “The only material consequence this constitutional accusation had was obviously to prevent me from exercising my academic position at the University of Chile. My father was an academic at the University of Chile and was dismissed by the dictatorship. When we talk about our institutions improving, today I had the space he did not, to present arguments, to offer people who think differently a perspective on what was fair”.
The sole officialist vote in favor came from Senator Pedro Araya (PPD), who criticized the management for inadequate oversight. Elizalde hailed the ruling: “Today justice has been done”. Absences such as Felipe Kast's and María José Gatica's affected the quorum, and Yasna Provoste's (DC) voting mistake did not change the result.
This rejection eases tensions in the Executive and aims to stabilize the political landscape ahead of the next parliamentary period.