established, the amount of which is the same for all the victims who have been found
eligible by the committees entrusted with this task.” The second, which relates to an
individual perspective […], considers individual elements,” and relates to measures in “the
sphere of health,” linked to the PRAIS program, and also education and housing. Thus,
“victims whose studies were interrupted owing to political imprisonment or torture have the
right to the State guaranteeing the continuation [of those studies].” In addition, “measures
have been established that seek to facilitate the acquisition of a home for those who do not
own one, as well as improvements for owners of social housing.” Regarding this case, the
State asserted that Mr. García Lucero is one of the many people who have benefited from
the different measures of reparation, so that his rights have not been violated.” 174
176. The State also argued that “[o]ver the period 1973–1990 […] many Chileans lived in
exile. […] When they were able to return, it was the State that helped them in different
ways.” In this regard, it indicated various legislative measures under which it “created the
National Office for Returnees; […] awarded certain customs exemptions to those who
returned, and […] granted benefits to those indebted to the Banco del Estado who had
obtained loans under the program to provide loans to Chileans who returned to set up their
own businesses.” It explained that the “general criteria [of the reparation system] are based
on the victim’s presence in the country,” and that “the system is based on the victim having
returned to the country or residing in the country, […] because the concept is to try and
reinstate these victims in the country, which they had been forced to leave.” It also affirmed
that “since Chile returned to democracy in 1990, there are no exiles.” In this regard, it
indicated that, in addition to the monetary reparations that Mr. García Lucero has received
and continues to receive, there are others “in the form of special services in the areas of
health, education or housing [that] are subject to the residence in Chile of [Mr. García
Lucero] and/or his family.” It indicated that:
The ideal scenario would be that Mr. García Lucero return to Chile because, there, he and his
whole family would be the beneficiaries of the whole system of reparation that exists in Chile and
which, unfortunately, […] it is impossible to extend to the exiles who still live abroad for practical
reasons and also a matter of resources, because it would be necessary to take resources away
from the programs that are provided in Santiago in order to deal with situations of Chileans who
live abroad.
177. The State added that the reparations program implemented in Chile “could be
compatible with the victims being able to have recourse to the national or international
courts in order to submit their claims for reparation on an individual basis. In this regard,
[…] the legitimacy of these individual mechanisms should be considered and the
compatibilities established that allow access to the benefits of one or other procedure.” It
also considered that “the facts denounced by [Mr.] García Lucero […] should be categorized
as crimes against humanity, which, according to the international treaties in force, give rise
to the State’s responsibility with the resulting obligation to make reparation, which must be
sought in the domestic courts. However, it also indicated that, insofar as “the pensions” that
Mr. García Lucero receives “constitute civil compensation arising from the State’s
acknowledgement of responsibility for the massive and systematic human rights violations
174
In this regard, it indicated that, “at [April 21, 2013, he] had received: […] US$39,574.50 […], equivalent
to the payment from 1998 to [that] date of the pension as [“]a person dismissed for political reasons[”;]
US$5,059.90 […] corresponding to the special payments established by Laws […] 20,134 and 20,403[, and]
US$6,315.70 […] corresponding to the bonus payment established in Law […] 19,992 as a victim of torture. This
allows the State to affirm that, under the reparations pension, Mr. García Lucero has received […] approximately
[…] US$50,950.10. The annual amount of the pension he receives […] is US$3,658.60, adjustable based on the
consumer price index in Chile, and he will continue to receive it up until his death, when it will be transferred to his
widow.”
54