Original article: Recuerdan cuando ex presidenta PPD Natalia Piergentili rasgaba vestiduras por Caso Convenios: Hoy su pareja es acusado de lavado de activos
When Natalia Piergentili Labeled Involved Parties as «Pendejos Mierda»: Today, Her Partner Faces Money Laundering Charges
The so-called «Foundations Case» has struck at the core of the Party for Democracy (PPD), with the pre-trial detention of Andrés Saavedra, partner of the party’s former president, Natalia Piergentili, according to a recent report from Reportea.CL.
Saavedra has been detained for over a month on formal charges of money laundering. The Los Lagos Regional Prosecutor’s Office, led by Patricio Poblete, claims the former PPD leader managed the awarding of a contract worth $1.2 billion between the Regional Government (GORE) of Los Lagos and the Fundación Participa, receiving payment through a frontman.
According to Reportea.CL’s investigation, «the accused Andrés Saavedra Moreno, without being part of its organization or having a contractual relationship with the Fundación Participa, contacted Gloria González in October 2022, providing her with details about the aforementioned foundation.» The day after, on October 19, 2022, the foundation secured a project aimed at regularizing land titles for vulnerable families.
The illegal payments reportedly occurred between February and May 2023, while Saavedra served as deputy manager of public affairs for the Kimal Lo Aguirre electric project. The Prosecutor’s Office detailed that public funds were diverted via a fictitious contract with sociologist and PPD member Manuel Führer, who is also currently in pre-trial detention. «The defendants Daniel Ibáñez (president of Participa, imprisoned since June 2025) and Andrés Saavedra agreed on a mechanism to divert part of these public funds to Saavedra as payment for his involvement,» the case history states. According to the complaint from the State Defense Council, the funds would have defrauded the treasury by over $200 million, with only «a few dozen properties» regularized instead of the promised 1,400.
Former PPD president, Natalia Piergentili, has referred to Saavedra as «the father of my daughter» and has confirmed that she visits him in jail, while firmly denying any implication or prior knowledge of the events. However, internal party sources revealed to Reportea.CL that Piergentili never informed the board about her partner’s involvement in the multimillion-dollar contract.
When Piergentili Criticized the «Foundations» Case
Public Account 2021
This situation contrasts sharply with previous public statements made by Piergentili herself. In September 2023, during the height of the foundations scandal, the then president of the PPD harshly criticized those involved. Social media users have recalled and proliferated those statements in which she labeled the responsible parties as «pendejos mierda» and lamented the diversion of public funds, a stance now seen as hypocritical by her critics, given that her partner is allegedly implicated in the same kind of actions she previously denounced.
Here are some reactions on social media:
History of Chile @fotohistoriacl: ·Natalia Piergentili, September 5, 2023.
History of Chile @fotohistoriacl: Natalia Piergentilli, September 5, 2023.
History of Chile @fotohistoriacl: ·Pepe Auth’s column from a year ago
Vagabundo Ilustrado@vagoilustrado: «The irony is that Natalia Piergentili (ex PPD President) condemned the Foundations Case in 2023, and according to the Prosecutor’s Office, her partner received transfers for ‘his management’ so that the GORE would award money to a FOUNDATION (Participa) for over a billion.»
H @hernan_sr: «You were all very young when Natalia Piergentili called those involved in the foundation case ‘pendejos mierda’, and it turns out that two years later we learn her partner was also involved and is now in jail for the foundation case. Never spit up in the air, especially in politics.»
