Chile's Chamber of Deputies Votes to Make National Search Plan for Disappeared Persons a Permanent Policy

The same day the Senate voted on the commutation bill, Chile's Chamber of Deputies approved (79 in favor, 41 against, 16 abstentions) legislation to transform the Plan Nacional de Búsqueda de Detenidos Desaparecidos (National Search Plan for Detained-Disappeared) into a permanent state policy independent of government changes. The plan covers disappearances from September 11, 1973 to March 10, 1990 — approximately 1,100 families still have no answers about the fate of their loved ones. Administered through the Subsecretariat of Human Rights with a 13-member oversight committee, the bill must pass a second constitutional review in the Senate. The vote came as incoming President Kast's party (Partido Republicano) had historically minimized the scope of dictatorship-era violations, making permanent institutional status crucial for continuity of forensic investigations.