Context: Chile has become one of the World’s Worst Countries in dealing with COVID19.

The Goverment
experimented with our population, manipulated systematically the statistics of deaths and refused to
publish open data about the epidemics. The Science Minister, the scientist Andrés Couve, unethically
supported and covered this policy. A group of more than 500 Chilean academicians and researchers
condemned publicly this situation. We need the support of the international scientific community to stop this
disaster. Please help us disseminate this letter.
The Spanish version and signatures can be found at https://eticacienciadatos.wordpress.com/.

Ethics, science, data and human lives

As scientists in academia and research, we know that ethics represents a key dimension in our
scientific effort. Without ethics, knowledge cannot be trusted and scientific practice loses its
ground. The value and legitimacy given to science by society is based on the principles of
responsibility, integrity and transparency. Behaviors such as manufacturing data, hiding
statistical tendencies, or even condoning those practices under any pretext, are strongly
discouraged within the ethics of science. These appalling behaviors are aggravated when
human lives are at stake. In the field of human health, students are taught the principle of
primum non nocere: first, do not harm. Therefore, mistakes that cause injury and loss of human
life are ethically unacceptable.

In the past few months, it has become clear that the Chilean Health Ministry has lied
systematically about the data associated with the COVID19 pandemic in Chile. The recent
resignation of the Health Minister Jaime Mañalich was an implicit recognition of the fraud he
perpetrated over the Chilean citizens. Moreover, it exposed those who had corroborated his lies
as complicit in these unethical practices. Andrés Couve, the Minister of Science, Technology,
Knowledge and Innovation, was a central player in this propaganda campaign. Minister Couve
constantly justified this disgraceful tendency. (Evidence in the form of press releases from the
Minister can be found in the Spanish version).

The poor handling of the COVID19 evidence and data by ex-Minister Mañalich, and the support
and covering of this policy by Science Minister Couve, are scientifically aberrant and ethically
unacceptable. We understand that during an emergency situation, such as the COVID19
epidemic, it is challenging to collect and manage accurate data, but this inherent difficulty does
not justify the hiding and misrepresentation of data, or the endorsement of these practices. A
healthy society cannot tolerate unethical behaviors of a few individuals, especially those
invested with the highest degree of scientific authority in the country. This is particularly
troublesome when considering that Couve’s misconduct has led to the suffering and death of
many in Chile, but disproportionally the poorest and disenfranchised. Andrés Couve should not
continue in his ministerial post.

So that this sham never happens again in Chile!

So that dignity and the truth become routine!