Yasna Provoste

Yasna Provoste Campillay (born 16 December 1969) is a Chilean teacher and Christian Democrat politician of Diaguita descent, who served as minister during the presidencies of Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet.

In 2008, after frauds committed by the civil servant Franka Grez, Provoste began to be questioned by parliamentarians of the then centre-right opposition ― Alianza por Chile— for not having been aware of that omission, that is, the systematic appropriation and concealment which Grez practiced in the four years where she operated (2004−2008). Thus, on 14 April, the Chilean Senate ―by 20 votes over 18― found her guilty of the loss of more than US$ 600 million in the so-called "Subsidies case" ( Spanish: ), and was disqualified from holding public office for five years. By the other hand, Grez was sentenced to eleven years in prison for embezzlement and diversion of funds to her relatives and close friends, actions that were estimated at $CLP 310 million.

After her self-exile in Canada from 2008 until 2009, she moved to Vallenar. She was then elected in 2013 as deputy for the Atacama Region's 6th District. She became President of the Senate of Chile in March 2021 after the resignation of Adriana Muñoz. Provoste resigned from this position in August 2021 to focus on her candidacy for President of Chile, which she lost in the first round.

Early life

Provoste was born in Vallenar in northern Chile to a family of Diaguita descent. At the age of nine she was a national champion in gymnastics, for which she received a scholarship to study at the women's boarding school in Santiago. Back in Vallenar she switched to athletics, becoming a pentathlon champion.

Provoste majored in physical education at the Playa Ancha University of Educational Sciences in Valparaíso. She pursued postgraduate studies in education administration at the same university, and in local government and decentralization in Colombia. During her university years she was twice president of the student board and was a member of the student's federation.

Political career

During the Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle administration Provoste was the director of the National Women's Service in the Atacama Region from 1996 to 1997 and governor of the Huasco Province from 1997 to 2001. During President Ricardo Lagos's tenure she was intendant of the Atacama Region from 2001 to 2004, minister of Planning from 2004 to 2006 and, during Michelle Bachelet's presidency, national executive director of Integra Foundation in 2006 and Minister of Education from 2006 to 2008.

Impeachment trial

In February 2008, the Office of the General Auditor of the Republic reported that around US$500 million of funds transferred by the Education Ministry to public and subsidized private schools during 2004 to 2008 were not properly accounted for and that nearly US$600 thousand were illegally transferred by Franka Grez to private school managers and her siblings Juan Pablo and Edmundo Grez. There were also reports of financial mismanagement in other areas, as well as duplicate enrollment of thousands of students.

Thus, Provoste was accused by the opposition deputies Iván Moreira and José Antonio Kast, both from the right-wing party Independent Democratic Union, for not correcting these irregularities. They urged members of their coalition to impeach her for violating article 52, number 2, letter b of the Constitution in her capacity as Minister of Education. On 3 April 2008, the Chamber of Deputies suspended her from her position. The Senate then heard her case on 15 April 2008 and voted to impeach her the following day on one out of five counts.

After the impeachment trial, Provoste was immediately removed from her position and was disqualified from office for the next five years. Meanwhile, Franka Grez received an eleven-year prison sentence for having illegally transferred public funds for four years.

Vote details

Chamber of Deputies:

*Admissibility of impeachment against the Minister of Education Yasna Provoste.
**Yes: 59 (50.9%) ll opposition-party deputies, plus independent deputy Marta Isasi, and former Christian Democrat members Alejandra Sepúlveda, Jaime Mulet, Eduardo Díaz del Río and Carlos Olivares.]
**No: 55 (47.4%) [All deputies, except Christian Democrat deputies Gabriel Ascencio and Pablo Lorenzini, Party for Democracy (Chile), Party for Democracy deputy René Alinco, and Socialist deputy Laura Soto.]
**Abstention: 2 (1.7%) René Alinco and deputies René Alinco and Pablo Lorenzini.">Pablo Lorenzini">deputies René Alinco and Pablo Lorenzini.**Not present: 3 [Former Christian Democrat member Pedro Araya Guerrero, Christian Democrat deputy Gabriel Ascencio and former Party for Democracy member Esteban Valenzuela.]
**Barred from voting: 1 [Socialist deputy Laura Soto.]

Senate:

*Count 1: Not correcting the grave infringements and irregularities committed by Ministerial Secretary of Education of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in the handling of public funds.
**Yes: 20 (52.6%) Independent Democratic Union