Author: Richard Pérez-Mongard
Date: July/09/2016
Updated: 16/Dec/2016
Chilean Ministry of Public Works responds, but...
Versión en español: El Ministerio de Obras Públicas responde, pero...
...brings no substance.
Between the years 2012 and 2013 the Chilean ministry of public works (Ministerio de Obras Públicas, MOP, in Spanish) created an absurd ruling with the sole purpose of providing privileged access to job opportunities to translators belonging to a Chilean translators association involved in bad practices (the Colegio de Traductores e Intérpretes de Chile, COTICH, in Spanish).
A request to the Chilean Comptroller General (Contraloría General de la República, in Spanish) to review the discrimination involved in the privileges delivered, proved the Comptroller's Office does not have competent staff capable of a deep analysis or refused that analysis and overseeing the administration’s decisions, because it did not seek expert advice to understand the disputed ruling, instead it accepted as true the personal and unsupported views of the lawyers of the MoW (probably the same ones who created the absurd ruling).
On many occasions I have requested and demanded, both from the Minister of Works and from the advisors in the Presidential Office, the MoW must produce the technical and professional criteria that gives support to each of the absurd points established in the ruling. But that Ministry, has issued decisions signed by the "Director General de Obras Públicas", Mr. Juan Sánchez Medioli and the lawyer, Mr. Francisco Larenas Sanhueza, where they repeatedly evade the requirement to contrast supporting information, an attitude one can only interpret as a desire to protect, no matter how, the privileges created with that ruling. Not only have they permanently evaded delivering verifiable information required to support the aberrant freak, and dismiss any dispute, but additionally, they have tried to deceive the Chilean people in official documents, suggesting that if a ruling has been considered legal by the Comptroller's Office it can't be changed. As if in Chile, the laws couldn't be improved.
In simple words: the ruling created by the MoW says "the Sun rises over the West in Chile and it sets over the East", when told that that must be modified because science has proved it's the other way around, they say their lawyers believe different, so that is how it has to be, and that they have been backed up by the Comptroller's Office.
When asked and demanded to provide proof, they recurrently act dumb. That's the kind of Ministers, Directors, Presidential advisors and lawyers one finds in this line of command. This is their willingness to find the truth. This is their behaviour in face of corrupt privileges. This is their ability with self-criticism. This is their ability to listen to other people, even those who know more than them in specific topics and make the effort of providing the necessary background for a reasoned judgement.
For these reasons, I accuse all those who I have asked to take actions regarding this complaint – and are empowered to make a difference - starting with the Presidential advisors; the Minister of public works, Mr. Alberto Undurraga Vicuña; The Undersecretary, Mr. Sergio Galilea Ocón; The "Director General de Obras Públicas", Mr. Juan Sánchez Medioli; The MoW's lawyer Mr. Francisco Larenas Sanhueza; and their team of lawyers, by commission or omission, of practicing intellectual cowardice, at least.
Intellectual cowardice, is: making unsupported statements or hiding the author; throwing intellectual stones in the dark; pretending to go forward but really receding; refusing to take responsibility for a decision; being anxious of being a fraud, the "impostor syndrome"; being verbally abusive but wearing a mask; silencing and censoring through fear or intimidation; not handling with justice that, which is not convenient to one; or contributing to State terrorism.
This empty space is reserved for the name of the intellectual author of the bastard ruling, the alleged "expert in translation" who validated the aberration.
As long as the Ministry doesn't deliver that information this space will remain void.
This empty space is reserved for the technical and professional arguments or references that would have to validate the absurd zombie created by that Ministry.
As long as the Ministry doesn't disclose that information, this space will remain void.
And if the people identified above - empowered and able to make a difference - don't do so, they shall remain contributors of intellectual cowardice.
These spaces await being filled.
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