Irregularities in Los Ríos Regional Government: El Ciudadano’s Investigation Exposes Case Now Escalating to Judicial and Administrative Reviews

Original article: Irregularidades en el GORE de Los Ríos: investigación de El Ciudadano destapa caso que hoy escala a la justicia y a revisiones administrativas Irregularities in Los Ríos Regional Government: El Ciudadano’s Investigation Exposes Case Now Escalating to Judicial and Administrative Reviews An investigation originally published by El Ciudadano has raised urgent concerns regarding the so-called Community Life Fund of the Los Ríos Regional Government, revealing an alleged scheme to defraud public resources through the use of fake quotes, connected companies, and possible internal influence networks. Read the original report by El Ciudadano. Building on these initial findings, the case has escalated.

According to reports published by the regional outlet Aquí Los Ríos, the complaint led to a criminal lawsuit against businessman Eduardo Fagalde—former division chief of the GORE—and an active official, opening up not only a criminal angle but also an in-depth administrative review within the regional body. The process resulted in the invalidation of a significant portion of the 2025 Citizen Security Grant, a fund close to $800 million. The resolution, signed on February 27, ordered the competition to revert to its initial stage, affecting 75 of the 84 awarded projects.

Among the most severe findings, dozens of initiatives were identified with repeated quotes linked to affiliated companies, irregular modifications to evaluation criteria, and the involvement of individuals lacking formal authority in key processes of the competition. The irregularities detected by the special commission were not confined to the security area. Problems also surfaced in environmental projects, including duplications of initiatives, failure to meet requirements, and even the discovery of a false quote.

Additionally, structural flaws were identified in the admissibility of projects, some of which were approved without complying with the established guidelines. Meanwhile, the case is intertwined with other institutional tensions in the region. In the Municipality of Paillaco, a lawsuit for workplace harassment and potential irregularities in hiring has once again raised doubts about administrative practices and possible conflicts of interest, ultimately concluding through a judicial agreement without admission of liability.

What began as a journalistic investigation by El Ciudadano into potential irregularities in the allocation of public funds has now transformed into a larger case involving the judiciary, administrative oversight, and multiple institutional actors, as documented by Aquí Los Ríos and El Mostrador. The lingering question remains: are we dealing with isolated incidents or a broader pattern? And, in this regard, could this case be connected to other recent investigations in the region, such as the complaint regarding the forgery of Governor Cuvertino’s signature for issuing resolutions, since the forgery occurred in the same context as the current security fraud?