MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile: 76% disapprove of La Moneda's management of Monsalve case

Not many respondents believed Boric should have demanded Monsalve's resignation first thing

The latest poll published by Plaza Pública Cadem this weekend showed that 76% of respondents during the fifth week of October disapproved of President Gabriel Boric Font's handling of the Manuel Monsalve case while 44% believed the head of state himself was to blame. In addition, 32% considered that the official most affected by the scandal was Interior Minister Carolina Tohá.

 The rape allegations against the former Undersecretary of the Interior dented the entire government coalition's electoral performance by 30%, the study also detected.

Moreover, 31% of those interviewed underlined that the main problem in the management of the crisis was that there was an attempt to cover it up. Then 18% highlighted the contradictory versions by different ministers. Only 15% found it inadmissible that Boric did not demand Monsalve's resignation on Oct. 15 when he learned that a former official had filed a rape complaint against him. All in all, 25% of Chileans approved of Boric's management, and 68% disapproved of it, which represented no significant changes from last week.

The survey also delved into consensual sex: 91% of respondents agreed that to have sexual intercourse, their clear consent was needed, either through words or acts, and 86% also reckoned that in lack of such consent, the subsequent events should be considered sexual assault and subject to legal penalties.

In addition, 93% of those interviewed considered it unacceptable to give drugs or alcohol to a woman, without her knowledge, to lure her into a sexual act. Disseminating videos or photos of a sexual nature (91%), touching a woman without her consent (75%), and forcing a partner to have sex (74%) should also be punished by law.

According to those consulted by the survey, 58% believe that sexual aggressions against women occur more frequently in places of leisure, parties, or festivals; 51% said it happened anywhere, and 25% mentioned workplaces.