Agricultural unions valued the entry into force of the expected Usurpation Lawand they said they hope it will contribute to put an end to land seizures.
This law, which toughens penalties for the crime of usurpation, was finally published on Friday in the Official Gazette.
In dialogue with The Mercuryhe president of the Malleco Farmers Association, Sebastian Naveillanthanked the entry into force of this law, long awaited by the sector, especially in the Southern Macrozone.
According to the representative, they hope that with «This new law respects the rule of law and, in particular, private propertyso that it is not violated or taken away.
For his part, the president of the Southern Agricultural Consortium, José Miguel Stegmeierasked the judges to «do not misinterpret» the new legislation and «that there are convictions and they understand what it means to usurp a field, with the impact on working families.»
«It will have to be perfected, but we already have something (…) When there is punishment, investigation and persecution, and proactive judges regarding the spirit of the law, the usurpations are going to end«, analyzed the agricultural leader to the aforementioned medium.
It should be remembered that this Law of Usurpations It was approved in Congress on November 8 with the entire veto presented by the Governmentalong with the 14 observations that modified its content.
This way, It was enacted without the figure of privileged self-defensewith permanent flagrancy only for the police (in order to avoid the self-protection of civilians), and with differentiated sanctions depending on the seriousness of the crime.
Specific, Penalties reach up to five years for violent usurpations; up to three for usurpations with damage to things, and up to 541 days or a fine for usurpations without violence, as determined by the judge.
Law of Usurpations by Radio Cooperativa on Scribd
«IT’S A BREAKTHROUGH»
The publication of this new legislation was also addressed by the senator for La Araucanía Carmen Gloria Aravena (Republicans), who stated that «although it is not the law that we would have wanted to see finally enacted, It is a great advance to have legislation in line with current times to confront the serious crime of usurpation.since we could not continue with obsolete regulations from 150 years ago.
«From now on the victims of these crimes They have more effective tools to recover stolen assetsas well as will serve to inhibit the commission of this crime by establishing prison sentences for so-called ‘violent’ usurpations and establishing permanent flagrancy with regard to the actions of the police,» the parliamentarian pointed out.
Aravena closed by indicating that as one of the authors of the project and representative of the region, «I know what it means for its inhabitants, and those who have been victims of this crime, to have this law.»
Deputy Andrés Jouannetpresident of Amarillos and also representative of the area, classified the publication of this law as good news, warning of the need in La Araucanía to confront usurpations.
In that region «annually more or less 150 prices are usurped, about 4 or 5 weekly, of which only 1 percent have any sanction, which is a fine of 20 thousand pesos, that is nothing. Now this is going to change , Now it is going to be a crime and therefore the penalties are going to be much greater., even from jail«said the parliamentarian, who also appreciated that the measure affects «people who take over the houses.»
«An indication from me, for example, indicates that now it will not be possible to mark with a flag either. I want to warn all those who mark the fields and houses, They won’t be able to do it anymore«he explained.
Finally, Jouannet pointed out that although «we must continue moving forward and there are many more laws to work on, We have taken a big step with having a usurpation law«.