2024-09-14 07:54:30
The actions of Angela Vivanco and the members of the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court generated surprise, since they issued a ruling in just six days and when the case was not yet formally on the table.
The case against Angela Vivanco, involved in Luis Hermosilla’s chats, generated one of the most controversial plots of recent times in the Supreme Court, the so-called “Belarusian doll”, which involves the ministers who are members of the Third Chamber of the highest court and ended up affecting the interests of Codelco.
It all started on June 28, 2023, when The Third Chamber of the Supreme Court processed a protection appeal involving the Belaz Movitec SpA Consortium (CBM), composed of Movitec and the Belarusian firm Belaz, with the Chilean firm Codelco.
This, after the national copper company decided to terminate its contract with CBM in February last year, when it was in charge of the Rajo Inca project in the Salvador Division, since there was a 12-month delay in the works, with only 23% progress, along with a series of breaches in terms of safety, which included the death of a worker.
The death of Rubén Trigo, a CBM official, caused Codelco to file a complaint, collect the guarantee bonds and seize the machinery of the Belarusian consortium, finding support from the Court of Appeals of Copiapó, which ruled in his favor.
Angela Vivanco and the controversial role of the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court
Given this scenario, The firm – represented by former deputies Eduardo Lagos and Gabriel Silber, Mario Vargas and Isaac Ramírez – filed a writ of protection in the Supreme Court, where the case was studied and on July 4, The Third Chamber chaired by Angela Vivancowho replaced Sergio Muñoz, reversed the decision of the Copiapino appellate court and ordered the state-owned company to pay USD 20 million to CBM, in addition to USD 5 million in expenses.
From the beginning the ruling caused surprise, since This type of case takes months to be processed, but Vivanco closed it in just six days, with Cristina Gajardo voting against, while Mario Carroza and the member lawyers Leonor Etcheberry and María Angélica Benavides were in favor of CBM.
This situation raised suspicions at Codelco, since Minister Juan Eduardo Fuentes, former president of the Supreme Court, He acknowledged an error in the document ordering the case to be reviewed, They immediately filed an appeal for annulment to nullify the ruling that benefited the consortium, since it should not have been issued by the Third Chamber presided over by Angela Vivanco.
However, the same Court, this time headed by Sergio Muñoz after returning from his vacation but still with Vivanco in its ranks, rejected Codelco’s appeal unanimously.
In view of these facts, the Public Prosecutor’s Office appointed the Los Lagos prosecutor, Carmen Gloria Wittwer, to investigate the possible crimes of influence peddling and judicial prevarication in the case of Angela Vivanco.
For its part, Codelco reiterated its request that the ruling ordering the million-dollar payment to CBM be declared null and void, since it was issued even before being put on the table in the Supreme Court.reported La Tercera.