By Ingrid Bachmann
Only a month after taking office, President Sebastián Piñera faces growing criticism by opponents and allies for not having transferred his ownership of the channel Chilevisión to a nonprofit organization as he promised during his campaign, La Nación and EFE report.
Beyond the broken promise, there are arrows that point to conflicts of interest in the ownership of the channel. Piñera must name people to several positions on the board of Televisión Nacional, the influencial state-owned channel and a competitor of Chilevisión, in addition to new directors of the National Television Council.
Opposition parliament members have proposed blocking those nominations until the president can disengage from Chilevisión, and they have asked the Comptroller to rule on the legality of the presidential appointments. Piñera, meanwhile, has denied any conflict. “If I wanted to favor my interests, I wouldn't be president," he said.
The criticism has even come from his own coalition government. Sen. Andrés Allamand said it is “absolutely clear" that Piñera should detach himself from Chilevisión.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
