The Chilean Chamber of Deputies approved a constitutional accusation against former Energy Minister Diego Pardow with 80 votes in favor, due to errors in electricity billing. The motion now heads to the Senate, which will decide whether to disqualify him for five years. Pardow defends his actions and hopes to persuade senators that no constitutional breaches occurred.
On November 19, 2025, Chile's Chamber of Deputies approved the admissibility of a constitutional accusation against Diego Pardow, former Energy Minister from the Frente Amplio. The vote tallied 80 in favor, 39 against, and 16 abstentions, delivering an emotional blow to the executive, though the outcome was anticipated. The opposition, including benches like UDI, RN, Evópoli, and Republicans, filed the motion over a methodological error that double-charged inflation in electricity rates, compounded by a Transelec asset valuation issue in October 2024 that drove up bills.
Despite Pardow's resignation on political grounds requested by President Gabriel Boric, 14 government-allied deputies voted in favor, including independents like Mónica Arce and Felipe Camaño, and others from PPD, liberals, and radicals. The government deployed political committee ministers, such as Álvaro Elizalde (PS), Macarena Lobos (Segpres), Nicolás Grau (Treasury), Camila Vallejo (PC), and Antonia Orellana (Women), to support Pardow during the session. Afterward, they gathered in the Segpres office to review the day in a somber atmosphere with some tears. Pardow left visibly affected, wearing sunglasses.
Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde lamented the approval: “It is an accusation that does not go in the direction of what Chileans ask of us. [...] a tool that has been very common during all this time has been used, to file constitutional accusations that do not solve the problems affecting our compatriots.” Pardow, a lawyer and academic at the University of Chile, is preparing his Senate defense: “There has been no infringement of the Constitution or the laws here. My actions as minister were always a strict adherence to existing legality.” He hopes to sway a Senate majority, contending that deputies' criticisms were political, not legal. If the Senate upholds the accusation, Pardow faces a five-year ban from public office, impacting even his university position.
Hopeful signs include opposition absences and abstentions, such as the pairing between Pamela Jiles (PDG) and Andrés Jouannet (Amarillos), and vote shifts to abstention due to government outreach.