Quote'A new Chile': political elite rejected in vote for constitutional assembly
Victories for leftist and independent candidates over rightwingers paves the way for a long-awaited progressive settlement
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Supporters of leftwing parties celebrate in Santiago after their victories in Chile's constitutional assembly elections. Photograph: Marcelo Hernández/Getty Images
John Bartlett in Santiago
Tue 18 May 2021 09.00 BST
Chile's established political elite has been roundly rejected at the polls six months ahead of a pivotal presidential election, as the country turned to a progressive new generation to write the next chapter in its history.
Resounding victories for leftist and independent candidates saw rightwing politicians crash to a dismal electoral defeats alongside those with links to Chile's transition to democracy.
Across two days of voting, Chileans cast votes for the 155 delegates who will write a new constitution to replace Augusto Pinochet's 1980 document and the neoliberal model it enshrined.
People also voted for regional governors for the first time ever, as well as for councillors and mayors – with candidates backed by president Sebastián Piñera's Chile Vamos coalition faring poorly in each case.
Crucially, with the government coalition's list securing only 37 seats in the assembly, Chile's traditional right-wing fell well short of the one-third bloc it had targeted to obstruct the inclusion of progressive articles the constitution.
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Communist party members in Santiago celebrate their victories in the constitutional assembly elections. Photograph: Felipe Figueroa/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
Each bill must be approved by two-thirds of the assembly to be included in the document.
"Many people are saying that yesterday was the day that the transition to democracy finally reached its conclusion," said Verónica Figueroa Huencho, an academic at the University of Chile's school of public affairs.
"The participation of indigenous peoples and independent candidates in a gender-equal constitutional assembly is a launchpad for a new Chile."
The 155-member assembly will include 47 independent candidates and 17 representing the country's 10 indigenous groups, whose participation was guaranteed for the first time in Chile.
Gender parity had been assured before the vote took place – for the first time ever in a national constitutional project – yet female candidates performed so well that the eventual adjustment ended up favouring men.
In late 2019, a mass protest movement exploded in Chile, targeting the country's insulated and disconnected political elite as well inequalities engendered by the dictatorship's economic model. From the mass of demands that arose from the demonstrations, a constitutional referendum was scheduled as political parties' response to the crisis.
On 25 October 2020, Chileans headed to the polls for the plebiscite and an emphatic 78% of voters opted to draft a new constitution.
As people gathered in Plaza Italia in Santiago that night, dubbed Plaza Dignidad as it became the epicentre of the protest movement, the word "Reborn" was projected triumphantly onto a nearby building – but the rejuvenation of the political landscape was only finalised when Chileans came to vote this weekend.
Candidates who stoked the sentiments of the protests performed strongly, as did those without the baggage of political affiliation.
"This weekend we have seen the categorical rejection of the constitution and the political culture it fomented," said Fernando Atria, a law professor who has campaigned in favour of writing a new constitution and was elected to the assembly over the weekend.
"The current constitution was designed to prevent transformation and progress, but our role now is to create a new political system that is capable of responding to the demands of the people."
Candidates backed by the government also did poorly in local elections, losing important mayorships and failing to force their way into gubernatorial run-offs.
In an address from the presidential palace last night, Piñera recognised that Chile's "traditional political forces" were "not in tune with people's demands".
"This is the triumph of social and political unity," declared Santiago's mayor-elect, Irací Hassler, in the city's Plaza de Armas, flanked by several of the women who won their elections.
"This is the beginning of a significant change in the way we do politics. The protest movement, feminist strikes and socio-environmental movements are here to stay."
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Communist party candidate Irací Hassler celebrates her election as mayor of Santiago. Photograph: Felipe Figueroa/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
Hassler usurped incumbent Felipe Alessandri, who was running for a second term backed by Piñera's coalition, to claim the district in the heart of the capital for Chile's Communist party.
A period of solemn introspection has begun for the country's traditional political parties, including debate over potential presidential candidates.
However, the Frente Amplio, Chile's main opposition coalition which had only recently fragmented and seen doubt cast over its future, managed to perform strongly.
Its presidential candidate, Gabriel Boric, a veteran of Chile's 2011 education protests, profited from the rush of optimism that accompanied the vote to collect the signatures required to register his candidacy on Monday.
Chileans will vote in presidential and congressional elections in November this year.
Meanwhile, the constitutional assembly will have a maximum of 12 months to draft a new constitution, which will be ratified at the conclusion of the process by a plebiscite in which voting will be compulsory.
Until the vote takes place, the 1980 constitution will remain in force.
I need to know more about Chilean politics as from what I understand one of the main leaders of the movement to draft a new constitution was Pam Jiles who did the Naruto run in Chilean parliament to celebrate when it was approved :lol: She was leading the polls for President but has now pulled out after her husband did badly as did the rest of the Humanist Party.
Also one of the women elected to the constitutional convention is Tia Pikachu - who's famous for turning up to the social protests over the last few years in a Pikachu costume :lol:
But they are really striking results - the centre right came first, but they're the only right/centre-right list that won any seats and they got the lowest number of votes in any election. Then the left-far left coalition and the anti-establishment-left coalitions in second and third place, with the more traditional centre-left coalition in fourth place. It's extraordinary and very interesting.
Let's focus. Will transwomen get seats as women?
Quote from: Sheilbh on May 18, 2021, 04:25:57 AMI need to know more about Chilean politics as from what I understand one of the main leaders of the movement to draft a new constitution was Pam Jiles who did the Naruto run in Chilean parliament to celebrate when it was approved :lol: She was leading the polls for President but has now pulled out after her husband did badly as did the rest of the Humanist Party.
Also one of the women elected to the constitutional convention is Tia Pikachu - who's famous for turning up to the social protests over the last few years in a Pikachu costume :lol:
But they are really striking results - the centre right came first, but they're the only right/centre-right list that won any seats and they got the lowest number of votes in any election. Then the left-far left coalition and the anti-establishment-left coalitions in second and third place, with the more traditional centre-left coalition in fourth place. It's extraordinary and very interesting.
Chilean popular movements of the last decade or so have always been pretty colourful, for what I know. One of their symbols is a black dog wearing a red bandana called "Negro Matapacos" (literally "Blackie the Cop Killer" in Chilean slang), after a real dog that used to be present in every single student protest of the early 2010s. It has a wiki page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro_Matapacos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro_Matapacos)) and everything, and there's tons of iconography. :P
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Good. Hopefully having far left in power in a South American country will mean prosperity for all.
Quote from: DGuller on May 18, 2021, 05:01:21 AM
Good. Hopefully having far left in power in a South American country will mean prosperity for all.
As long as the CIA stays quiet, results in Chile might be much better this time.
There are a few good examples of the hard left ruling sensibly, primarily Greece but IIRC also some Indian states. Probably a few more that I'm missing. Odds are good for Chile, this will be a success and if it isn't a success it's certainly because of CIA.
Sounds like they're just trolling the Conservatives with this wacky millennial stuff. :lol:
Fingers crossed the cia does keep their nose out. Chile is very well placed to finally break out of the middle income trap.
Quote from: The Larch on May 18, 2021, 05:04:37 AM
As long as the CIA stays quiet, results in Chile might be much better this time.
Yeah - also I feel like this is kind of inevitable if you entrench constitutionally policies rather than broad political principles and how the state operates, which is Pinochet did. The shape of the Chilean state, from my understanding, is still largely dictated by that constitution.
Also the far-left run lots of Chilean cities and regions - as is pretty common in Latin America. But they're not going to be running the country - they're writing the constitution for approval in a referendum. But the general elections are later this year - I think the Communist Presidential candidate of the broad left is leading but I also think the polls are all over the place.
Quote from: Sheilbh on May 18, 2021, 05:51:18 AMAlso the far-left run lots of Chilean cities and regions - as is pretty common in Latin America.
In fact Santiago de Chile just elected a communist mayor, for instance.
Quote from: Threviel on May 18, 2021, 05:15:17 AM
There are a few good examples of the hard left ruling sensibly, primarily Greece but IIRC also some Indian states. Probably a few more that I'm missing. Odds are good for Chile, this will be a success and if it isn't a success it's certainly because of CIA.
:wacko:
Quote from: The Larch on May 18, 2021, 05:04:37 AM
Quote from: DGuller on May 18, 2021, 05:01:21 AM
Good. Hopefully having far left in power in a South American country will mean prosperity for all.
As long as the CIA stays quiet, results in Chile might be much better this time.
I mean the CIA just had to say it was cool with it for the opposition to do the coup on its own. Hopefully the situation is more stable this time.
Quote from: Threviel on May 18, 2021, 05:15:17 AM
if it isn't a success it's certainly because of CIA.
Man so the success of every extreme left government is 100% so long as the CIA doesn't get involved. Good to know.
Quote from: Valmy on May 18, 2021, 11:34:12 AM
Quote from: The Larch on May 18, 2021, 05:04:37 AM
Quote from: DGuller on May 18, 2021, 05:01:21 AM
Good. Hopefully having far left in power in a South American country will mean prosperity for all.
As long as the CIA stays quiet, results in Chile might be much better this time.
I mean the CIA just had to say it was cool with it for the opposition to do the coup on its own. Hopefully the situation is more stable this time.
So the destabilization of Allende's government doesn't count? :P
Certainly very interesting, I've long harbored a desire to visit Valparaiso, so ordinary people organizing themselves to establish a society a bit more to their own liking makes it a more attractive trip. I wonder how things will progress. We love democracy* here in the United States, but only when it produces outcomes the very rich approve of.
* Less so these days. proto fascism is having a moment here.
Quote from: The Larch on May 18, 2021, 11:43:10 AM
So the destabilization of Allende's government doesn't count? :P
It might. I have only really looked closely at the coup itself at this point, just because I was curious how the CIA actually does a coup.
Quote from: Valmy on May 18, 2021, 11:44:41 AM
Quote from: The Larch on May 18, 2021, 11:43:10 AM
So the destabilization of Allende's government doesn't count? :P
It might. I have only really looked closely at the coup itself at this point, just because I was curious how the CIA actually does a coup.
Story of a Death Foretold by Oscar Guardiola-Rivera is well worth a read :)
Quote from: The Larch on May 18, 2021, 05:54:14 AM
Quote from: Sheilbh on May 18, 2021, 05:51:18 AMAlso the far-left run lots of Chilean cities and regions - as is pretty common in Latin America.
In fact Santiago de Chile just elected a communist mayor, for instance.
that's pretty bad, electing people who follow an ideology that has killed so many and is so anti-democratic...
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on May 18, 2021, 12:07:01 PM
Quote from: The Larch on May 18, 2021, 05:54:14 AM
Quote from: Sheilbh on May 18, 2021, 05:51:18 AMAlso the far-left run lots of Chilean cities and regions - as is pretty common in Latin America.
In fact Santiago de Chile just elected a communist mayor, for instance.
that's pretty bad, electing people who follow an ideology that has killed so many and is so anti-democratic...
That line doesn't work in Chile, mate.
Quote from: The Larch on May 18, 2021, 12:09:21 PM
That line doesn't work in Chile, mate.
Chileans have access to the same history books as the rest of us.
Communist mayors are safe because the office doesn't give control of the judiciary or the electoral system.
The problem with the Eastern block wasn't that they were communist. It's that they were authoritarian dictatorships. That's a pretty bad thing no matter your economic stance.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 18, 2021, 12:20:12 PM
Quote from: The Larch on May 18, 2021, 12:09:21 PM
That line doesn't work in Chile, mate.
Chileans have access to the same history books as the rest of us.
Communist mayors are safe because the office doesn't give control of the judiciary or the electoral system.
Yeah the most fatal problem we have had with Communists isn't that collective ownership means tens of millions are automatically killed but their centrally planned dictatorially controlled economies and bureaucracies make stupid uninformed decisions and are insulated from anybody who knows better telling them their ideas are stupid. So you have disastrously idiotic decisions killing millions from starvation and environmental disaster. So Communism, at least as practiced, tends to kill more people trying to help them than it does seizing power or shooting perceived enemies.
If you have Communists with limited power in a constitutional system, I don't know. Maybe they might not kill millions. The Communists in France and Italy were generally not as genocidal as their power was limited, at least not in practice maybe they really wanted to kill millions.
Granted simply not killing millions isn't a super high hurdle to clear.
Quote from: Tyr on May 18, 2021, 12:24:04 PM
The problem with the Eastern block wasn't that they were communist. It's that they were authoritarian dictatorships. That's a pretty bad thing no matter your economic stance.
can't have the first without the second. Something the left needs to learn quickly if they want to maintain some semblance of credibility.
And Larch: that line works everywhere. That Chile had to suffer a fascist dictatorship doesn't take away from the fact that communism is a ideology on the same level as fascism.
That communism's endgoal is -supposedly- some utopia can't be used as an excuse. On the contrary: it's a warning. A warning that adherents of such an ideology are dangerous, extremely dangerous, as they believe they have to moral right to "save" humanity.
Quote from: Tyr on May 18, 2021, 12:24:04 PM
The problem with the Eastern block wasn't that they were communist. It's that they were authoritarian dictatorships. That's a pretty bad thing no matter your economic stance.
Do you think that authoritarian dictatorship is not hard wired into communism?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 18, 2021, 12:51:06 PM
Quote from: Tyr on May 18, 2021, 12:24:04 PM
The problem with the Eastern block wasn't that they were communist. It's that they were authoritarian dictatorships. That's a pretty bad thing no matter your economic stance.
Do you think that authoritarian dictatorship is not hard wired into communism?
Well if they keep running in elections maybe not :hmm:
It does kind of seem out of step with what they are supposed to be about but I don't know what they have been up to for the past 30 years or so.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 18, 2021, 12:51:06 PMDo you think that authoritarian dictatorship is not hard wired into communism?
I think it's hardwired into Marxist-Leninism (although even then there are exceptions - see Nepal I think on its third elected Maoist and Marxist-Leninist coalition :lol:).
More importantly this is the constitutional convention - they've not won power (though they might). And they've also only won just under a third of the seats along with the moderate left, anti-establishment left parties and a number of independents.
But the red scare going on in here is possibly how things so quickly move to coup in Latin America :lol:
Edit: But - for example - despite the cover of Time, I don't think Enrico Berlinguer would have ended up leading an authoritarian dictatorship.
I don't think Nepal works as a counterexample because the power sharing arrangement was the result of a low level guerrilla war. The Maoists never had total control.
Quote from: Valmy on May 18, 2021, 12:52:50 PM
Well if they keep running in elections maybe not :hmm:
I don't think that means much. Spanish communists participated in elections before the civil war.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 18, 2021, 01:03:57 PM
I don't think Nepal works as a counterexample because the power sharing arrangement was the result of a low level guerrilla war. The Maoists never had total control.
Yeah in 2007 but they've had three democratic elections since.
2008 returned a Maoist led government with Marxist Leninists in coalition, 2013 returned a Congress led government with Marxist Leninists in coalition, and in 2017 they returned a Marxist Leninist led government with the Maoists in coalition. The Marxist Leninists are, presumably, the Lib Dems of Nepal :hmm:
Edit: Looking it up apparently the Marxist Leninists (Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)) and Maoists (Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)) tried to merge into a unified Communist Party of Nepal in 2018 but it fell apart after the courts ruled the the Communist Party of Nepal was already registered so they had to dissolve again :lol:
Quote from: Tyr on May 18, 2021, 12:24:04 PM
The problem with the Eastern block wasn't that they were communist. It's that they were authoritarian dictatorships. That's a pretty bad thing no matter your economic stance.
:D
Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 18, 2021, 01:08:17 PM
Quote from: Valmy on May 18, 2021, 12:52:50 PM
Well if they keep running in elections maybe not :hmm:
I don't think that means much. Spanish communists participated in elections before the civil war.
They have also participated in elections after Franco died :hmm:
But I mean back in the 1930s they were explicitly funded and controlled by Stalin. I am just if the Communists are operating constitutionally and under a democratic mandate than I guess they are alright. It does seem kind of out of step with what they are supposed to be doing but hey any political party can be Communist just by saying "We Are Communists." It might not mean they are actually practicing Marxism, political branding is weird and nonsensical especially in different countries.
Quote from: Valmy on May 18, 2021, 01:20:02 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 18, 2021, 01:08:17 PM
Quote from: Valmy on May 18, 2021, 12:52:50 PM
Well if they keep running in elections maybe not :hmm:
I don't think that means much. Spanish communists participated in elections before the civil war.
They have also participated in elections after Franco died :hmm:
But I mean back in the 1930s they were explicitly funded and controlled by Stalin. I am just if the Communists are operating constitutionally and under a democratic mandate than I guess they are alright. It does seem kind of out of step with what they are supposed to be doing but hey any political party can be Communist just by saying "We Are Communists." It might not mean they are actually practicing Marxism, political branding is weird and nonsensical especially in different countries.
That's Eurocommunism for ya (one of my favorite political monikers, I guess oldskool communism wasn't European).
Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 18, 2021, 11:30:54 AM
Quote from: Threviel on May 18, 2021, 05:15:17 AM
There are a few good examples of the hard left ruling sensibly, primarily Greece but IIRC also some Indian states. Probably a few more that I'm missing. Odds are good for Chile, this will be a success and if it isn't a success it's certainly because of CIA.
:wacko:
Voj, these modern times. I was thinking that it was an obvious damning with faint praise followed by an ironic :rolleyes: at the conspiracy nuts...
I should tone down my irony perhaps...
For a real analysis I would say that Chile could be in for a rough ride, but it is AFAICT only communist plurality, could mean absolutely nothing in the end.
Your sense of humor is remarkably dry :lol:
Yeah I think many countries have had Communist Parties in their governing coalitions. I think currently the Spanish Communist Party is part of a coalition which is part of a coalition which is currently the governing coalition.
Quote from: Threviel on May 18, 2021, 01:33:42 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 18, 2021, 11:30:54 AM
Quote from: Threviel on May 18, 2021, 05:15:17 AM
There are a few good examples of the hard left ruling sensibly, primarily Greece but IIRC also some Indian states. Probably a few more that I'm missing. Odds are good for Chile, this will be a success and if it isn't a success it's certainly because of CIA.
:wacko:
Voj, these modern times. I was thinking that it was an obvious damning with faint praise followed by an ironic :rolleyes: at the conspiracy nuts...
I should tone down my irony perhaps...
For a real analysis I would say that Chile could be in for a rough ride, but it is AFAICT only communist plurality, could mean absolutely nothing in the end.
It was obvious. :)
It wasn't 100% obvious to me, but it was at least 99.9% obvious.
Quote from: DGuller on May 18, 2021, 01:42:45 PM
It wasn't 100% obvious to me, but it was at least 99.9% obvious.
That 0.1% of ambiguity confuses and scares me though.
Quote from: Valmy on May 18, 2021, 01:37:04 PM
Your sense of humor is remarkably dry :lol:
Yeah I think many countries have had Communist Parties in their governing coalitions. I think currently the Spanish Communist Party is part of a coalition which is part of a coalition which is currently the governing coalition.
And one of the communist ministers in the cabinet is one of the most competent of the lot. OTOH, the other one is probably the most incompetent. :P
IIRC the Sandanistas also held (and lost) a free and fair election after they came to power. But recently Ortega has taken an authoritarian turn.
Quote from: Valmy on May 18, 2021, 11:36:02 AM
Quote from: Threviel on May 18, 2021, 05:15:17 AM
if it isn't a success it's certainly because of CIA.
Man so the success of every extreme left government is 100% so long as the CIA doesn't get involved. Good to know.
I'm assuming that Threviel was attempting to be sarcastic.
Quote from: fromtia on May 18, 2021, 11:44:00 AM
* Less so these days. proto fascism is having a moment here.
Yes
Now that I've been given the chance to peer at distant Chile ( a country about which I know little) through the lens of North American Economic Libertarianism I must hope that some organizing principle can be found to avert this disaster! A young army Captain of some kind, with a penchant for mixing aviation with, er... education perhaps? That necessary rescue must somehow be willed into being to prevent these ill informed dullards from meddling in their own country.
I listened to a Sam Harris episode that had me laughing out loud, not what Harris intended I don't think. It was sort of all about how it was absolutely necessary and urgent to intervene in Chilean affairs after Allende won election and that no right thinking person could possibly have imagined or foreseen that the chosen champion of teh freedoms could have been a tiny, tiny bit off key in his methods later on. Magical.
And the constitutional convention is open!
They've elected Elisa Loncon - a linguist and indigenous rights activist who is part of the independent Mapuche delegation - as President, largely, though not solely, with the support of the left.
Interesting to watch for the next 9-12 months.
The only thing I know is that Chile and Hong Kong had riots roughly the same time in 2019. Whereas Hong Kong largely held firm and refused to give in to the rioters, Chile did not. It is sad but it is somebody else's country, so.
Anyone who is surprised that the thugs running China would rather massacre their own people than give up any of their power is delusional. Chile's thugs lost power a long time ago, so slaughtering their populace, PRiCk-style, was not even a possibility.
I would be interested in a comparative study of say Hong Kong and Chile to find out why it turned out differently. Would be...useful.
Quote from: Monoriu on July 04, 2021, 06:03:30 PM
I would be interested in a comparative study of say Hong Kong and Chile to find out why it turned out differently. Would be...useful.
It might have something to do with the ethos that a constitution
should be something that comes from the people, not something that is imposed on the people.
(note the should there, theory and practice...)
The legitimacy of any government rests on the consent of the governed. That's all there is to it.
Also the difference is probably that if the rest of the Americas was a ruthless murderous dictatorship it could have imposed whatever on Chile. But unlike Hong Kong Chile has no external pack of murderous thugs deciding its fate.
Quote from: Monoriu on July 04, 2021, 05:55:48 PM
The only thing I know is that Chile and Hong Kong had riots roughly the same time in 2019. Whereas Hong Kong largely held firm and refused to give in to the rioters, Chile did not. It is sad but it is somebody else's country, so.
If Hong Kong actually did have trouble with rioters what would you call them? :hmm: