Presidential election Chile, Boric new face of the South American left
The South American left has a new face. Is called Gabriel Boric and he has just been elected president of Chile in the elections on Sunday 19 December. On a continent that has gone more to the right in recent years, the Chilean one is the second clue after the victory of Castillo in Peru a few months ago. And it’s not just any face. In a region where experience usually wins, this time it is a 35-year-old millennial who triumphs. Strange as it may seem, and Chile is also far away geographically, there is no lack of controversy over Italy for the declarations of Matteo Salvini in favor of the defeated candidate Antonio Kast, nicknamed the “Chilean Bolsonaro “.
“Chile chooses: I hope Kast will win so that the country has order and security”. These are the words of Salvini that caused an uproar. “Order and security “ these are keywords that Chile holds dear, given that in recent years there have been mass protests, often even violent, arising from galloping inflation and then spreading to other topics. Too bad Kast isn’t exactly a unitary figure.
Chile, Salvini supports Kast: son of a Nazi and with ties to Pinochet
Kast comes from a German family who emigrated to Chile after World War II. His father was a member of the Nazi Party and served as an officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II. It is not the only link of the family with a dictatorship. The brother Miguel Kast he was minister of labor from 1980 to 1982 and director of the Central Bank of Chile for a few months during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. On the other hand, Kast has repeatedly said that he is somehow close to the figure of Pinochet, accepting the presentation as his possible heir. And he has repeatedly said he is in favor of an amnesty for those convicted of crimes committed during the regime.
Kast and the accusations on tax havens. Extreme positions on weapons and abortion
Not exactly a mirrored past, therefore, for Kast who among other things also had other kinds of problems such as accusations for having transferred money to different companies in Panama, a tax haven, without declaring them. Multimillionaire, the defeated but appreciated candidate by Salvini is also famous for his radical positions against migrants from neighboring countries of the South America. I also hard on justice and on safety, for example with the proposal to allow civilians to wear weapons as well as shooting thieves. In terms of rights, it is against abortion even in the event of rape or life threatening for the mother.
The Italian left celebrates Boric instead. Iv and M5s queue up
In short, truly radical positions. Salvini’s support therefore appears significant to understand what idea of the League his secretary has in mind, despite the moderate wing led by Giancarlo Giorgetti. The rest of the Italian political landscape celebrates Boric’s victory instead. Starting with the Democratic Party, which instead gives in to the usual charm of identifying a new possible hero of the left of the two worlds, given that Boric was a candidate of the Frente Amplio and the Communist Party. “A beautiful victory! VIVA CHILE”, wrote for example on Facebook the president of the Lazio Region, Nicola Gypsies.
Also Italy Viva, although he is discussing the formation of the large center, he celebrates: “The hope is that the Chilean vote will be the first step in a return of the whole area to progressive democracies”, said Senator Laura Garavini, vice president of the Foreign Affairs commission. The Five Star Movement is also celebrating: “The victory of the progressive candidate in Chile has strengthened the wall against the extreme and radical rightists that until recently, with Trump’s victory in the US, seemed unstoppable”, commented the deputy of the 5 Star Movement Aldo Penna.
A 35-year-old millennial, Boric’s program is radically progressive
As always, we hasten to point to a general parable for an election of a single country. But who is the new president Boric and what does he want to do? Political heir to the riots of October 2019, proposes to strengthen the role of the state in the economy, an increase in taxes to finance social spending and the end of the private pension system inherited from the dictatorship. “I will be the president of Chile of all Chileans and I will not rule only within four walls,” said Boric, who put his young age that made him popular among the youngest voters and the strong at the polls. Chilean student block.
Boric has very radical intentions, despite the fact that in the electoral campaign he managed to present himself as more moderate than Kast. For example, it is opposed to the traditional neoliberal economic system Chilean, which had enabled Santiago to become the locomotive of South America. He wants to replace the pension system private with a public one, introduce progressive cup for businesses and wealthy citizens, raise the minimum wage and reduce the workweek to 40 hours. A profoundly reformist program that will not be easy to implement.