CHILE · POLITICS
Chile’s governing right was split after one party leader attacked a former justice minister over sentence cuts for child sex offenders, but he apologised and the minister accepted.
Key Facts
- —The row Republican chief Arturo Squella apologised on 24 October for attacking ex-minister Hernán Larraín, who accepted.
- —The trigger Squella answered Larraín’s defence of a 2022 sentence-cut law by invoking Colonia Dignidad founder Paul Schäfer.
- —The parties Squella leads President Kast’s Republicans. Guillermo Ramírez leads the UDI, a conservative ally in the governing camp.
- —Why it matters The Republicans won 31 of 155 Chamber seats and the UDI 18, so new laws need allies.
- —What to watch The opposition seeks a special Chamber session on Wednesday, 28 October, to hear Justice Minister Fernando Rabat.
- —Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
On Saturday, 24 October 2026, Republican Party leader Arturo Squella apologised by telephone to Guillermo Ramírez, president of Chile’s UDI party, over an attack on former Justice Minister Hernán Larraín. Both parties back President José Antonio Kast, a conservative who took office in March, so the split matters to anyone asking whether his government can pass laws.
Ramírez announced the call on X, and Squella later wrote on X that he had also apologised to Larraín, who accepted, T13 reported. The Squella Larraín dispute began on Friday night, 23 October, over 56 sentence cuts that Kast’s Justice Ministry granted to people convicted of sex crimes against children.
In Plain English
- Republican Party: President José Antonio Kast’s party, led by Senator Arturo Squella, and the party with the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies after the 2025 election (31 of 155).
- UDI: the Unión Demócrata Independiente, a conservative party led by Deputy Guillermo Ramírez and part of the Chile Vamos bloc with RN and Evópoli.
- Hernán Larraín: a UDI veteran, senator from 1994 to 2018 and Justice Minister from 2018 to 2022 under President Sebastián Piñera.
- Sentence cut: a reduction of prison time for good conduct under Law 19.856, which a 2022 law closed to people convicted of many sex crimes against minors.
What Happened Between Squella and Larraín
On Friday morning, 23 October, Kast met the governing parties’ presidents at La Moneda, the presidential palace, and they closed ranks around Justice Minister Fernando Rabat. Squella told reporters that accusing Rabat in Congress would be “absurd” because the minister only complied with the law, La Tercera reported.
That evening Larraín published a statement on the 56 cuts, saying the Supreme Court had forced him in 2018 to grant one to a man convicted of raping a child under 14, T13 reported. Squella answered on X, “How valuable it would have been to have this law in force in the time of Paul Schäfer, don’t you think, Hernán?”
Timeline
- Wed 21 Oct: Interferencia reveals 56 sentence-cut decrees, and Justice Minister Rabat confirms the total.
- Fri 23 Oct, morning: Kast meets party presidents, and the ministry suspends new decrees.
- Fri 23 Oct, evening: Larraín publishes a statement, and Squella answers on X.
- Sat 24 Oct: UDI and Evópoli leaders criticise Squella, he phones Ramírez to apologise, and Larraín accepts his apology.
Schäfer founded Colonia Dignidad, a German-led sect compound in southern Chile, and Larraín was senator for the Maule region around it from 1994 to 2018, the National Congress Library shows. The Clinic reported that Larraín publicly defended the compound in the 1990s, and Squella said it “cannot be let pass” that the criticism came from a person with “the record he has on the matter”.
Evópoli president Luciano Cruz-Coke, a senator, told Squella he runs “the President’s party” and that “a minimum of prudence” required him to control “this outburst of anger”. On Saturday Ramírez called the post “injurious” and “unacceptable”, and UDI official María José Hoffmann said Squella was doing the government “profound damage”.
How Squella Apologised and Larraín Accepted
Later on Saturday Ramírez said Squella had called to apologise “for his post” and would contact Larraín personally, and he renewed the UDI’s commitment to work with its partners, La Tercera reported. Squella then wrote on X that he had apologised to Larraín personally, would delete the post and that “my response was disproportionate”, T13 reported.
Larraín replied on X that Squella had called to apologise for “offensive expressions”, had said his words “had no justification at all” and would delete them. Larraín wrote that he had accepted the apology and that it was now time “to work for Chile”, T13 and BioBioChile reported.
The Sentence Cut Row Behind the Fight
Law 19.856 of 2003 lets prisoners with outstanding conduct shorten their sentences, and Law 21.421 of 2022 excluded people convicted of many sex crimes against minors. Larraín countersigned the 2022 law as Justice Minister, and the Official Gazette published it on 9 February 2022.
Between 11 March and 13 September 2026 Kast’s Justice Ministry signed 56 decrees cutting sentences, 27 for child sexual abuse and 29 for rape of a minor, and refused one request, Interferencia reported. The ministry argues that the 2022 exclusion cannot reach crimes committed before 9 February 2022, BioBioChile reported.
Larraín argues that no one has an “acquired right” to a cut, so a prisoner must meet the law in force when he applies. Supreme Court president Gloria Ana Chevesich said it was the minister who issued the decrees under his legal powers, Interferencia reported.
On Friday the ministry paused new decrees, citing a “legal gap”, and promised urgent bills, El Mostrador reported. It did not cancel the 56 decrees already signed.
The Rio Times explained the legal split in its guide to why Chile cut child sex crime sentences. Its first report on the decrees is Chile Cuts Terms of 56 Child Sex Offenders.
Why the Squella Larraín Dispute Matters
Kast took office on 11 March 2026 without forming one governing coalition and told party leaders in December that he wanted a model of “collaboration”, El Dínamo reported. His Republicans work beside Chile Vamos, the bloc of the UDI, National Renewal (RN) and Evópoli.
The Republicans won 31 of the 155 seats in the Chamber of Deputies in November 2025 and the UDI 18, Pauta reported, so neither can pass laws alone. Kast’s Interior Minister, Claudio Alvarado, comes from the UDI.
“We have to watch our manners among ourselves, because otherwise we weaken the Government, we weaken our position in Congress … and in the end the country loses.”
Guillermo Ramírez, UDI president, 24 October (translated from Spanish)
The friction is not new. In June the UDI demanded a retraction after Republican deputy Agustín Romero called its veteran Evelyn Matthei “irrelevant”, and on 4 October Matthei said Republicans “work only with Republicans”.
Republican deputy Stephanie Jéldrez defended Squella, writing that the party’s style is why it is “the most voted party of the right”, The Clinic reported. Ramírez said the UDI would “look after the tone” but would not drop its criticism, The Clinic reported.
On the sentence cuts themselves, Ramírez said on Friday that Rabat “respected the law” and that the law is what must change, The Clinic reported. On Saturday he added that the previous government of Gabriel Boric “threw the ball to the Court” and did nothing to stop a repeat, The Clinic reported.
What It Means for You
The sources reviewed show no effect on travel to Chile, on trade with the United States or on markets. For US readers the row is a case study in how a government without its own majority depends on partner parties, much as a US president depends on a divided Congress.
Kast’s party won 31 of 155 Chamber seats, so it needs partners to pass urgent bills on sentence cuts. After the call Ramírez renewed the UDI’s commitment to work with its partners and treated the row as closed, CNN Chile reported, while Republican deputies had defended Squella’s post earlier on Saturday, as The Clinic and La Tercera reported.
Rabat is due to meet governing-party representatives on Monday, 26 October, BioBioChile reported, and the opposition wants a Chamber session on Wednesday, 28 October. Both dates come from Chilean outlets and not from the Chamber or the ministry.
Background on the people and parties is in the Rio Times profile of President Kast and its guide to who holds power in Chile. The explainer on who dominates Chile covers the wider elite and regional picture.
Connected Coverage
Read the companion piece in this cluster: What Happens Next in Chile’s Ruling Feud. Both articles are updated from the same verified sources.
What Is Not Known
Squella said he would delete his post, and the reports reviewed do not show whether it has been removed. Larraín’s message accepting the apology does not mention the Colonia Dignidad reference.
Interferencia reported that the UDI asked for the 56 cuts to be reversed, but Ramírez’s public line is that the law must change first and the government will then deal with the decrees. The reports reviewed do not show the Chamber confirming the opposition’s call for a special session on Wednesday, 28 October, and no constitutional accusation had been filed.
No source reviewed alleges that Larraín took part in the sect’s abuses, and none carries a comment from him on his 1990s record. It is also unclear whether the pause on new decrees covers requests backed by a court order, which the ministry did not say, BioBioChile reported.
It is not known how many of the 56 people have left prison, beyond Rabat’s remark that “the great majority” must have, El Mostrador reported. Nor do the sources show whether the decrees will be reviewed once the new law passes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Arturo Squella?
Squella is a senator for Valparaíso and president of the Republican Party, which is President Kast’s party. He sat in the Chamber for the UDI from 2010 to 2018 and left that party for the Republicans in 2019, the National Congress Library shows.
Who is Hernán Larraín?
Larraín is a veteran UDI politician who was a senator from 1994 to 2018 and Justice Minister from 2018 to 2022. He countersigned the 2022 law that excluded many child sex offenders from sentence cuts.
What is Colonia Dignidad?
It was a German-led sect compound in southern Chile, founded in 1961. Its leader Paul Schäfer was convicted of child abuse, and the compound was used to detain and torture opponents of the dictatorship, El Mostrador reported.
Did Squella apologise to Larraín?
Yes, Squella wrote on X that he apologised to Larraín personally, called his reply “disproportionate” and promised to delete the post. Larraín replied on X that he had accepted the apology, T13 reported.
What happens next?
The opposition wants a special Chamber session on Wednesday, 28 October, and is preparing a constitutional accusation against Rabat. The government has promised urgent bills, and the 56 signed decrees stay in force.
Sources: Law 21.421, National Congress Library; Official Gazette, 9 February 2022; Law 19.856, National Congress Library; National Congress Library, Larraín; National Congress Library, Squella; The Clinic, apology, 24 October; The Clinic, UDI reaction, 24 October; The Clinic, La Moneda meeting, 23 October; The Clinic, Larraín, 23 October; T13, 24 October; T13, Squella and Larraín, 24 October; BioBioChile, Larraín accepts, 24 October; CNN Chile, row closed, 24 October; La Tercera, 24 October; La Tercera, 23 October; La Tercera, Matthei, 4 October; El Dínamo, 24 October; El Dínamo, 27 June; CNN Chile, 24 October; Interferencia, 23 October; BioBioChile, 23 October; BioBioChile, 24 October; El Mostrador, 23 October; El Mostrador, Colonia Dignidad, 2020; Pauta, Congress after the 2025 election (all accessed 25 October 2026; quotations from Spanish are translated by The Rio Times).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief