Gabriel Boric, president-elect of Chile, takes office on March 11, 2022 with a list of clear challenges. Among the series of problems it will have to deal with are the responsibility of initiating the pension reform, the main desire of Chileans, the economic crisis, the continuity of the policy to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the forwarding of the process of the Constituent Assembly and the attempt to establish a harmonious relationship with Congress, in which there is no clear majority.
Faced with the worst recession in decades, the economy appears as the most latent issue. GDP shrank by 6 percentage points in 2020, due to the impact of Covid, which also caused the loss of 1 million jobs, and the level of poverty, in turn, went from 8.1% in 2019 to 12.2% in 2021.
Although a 5.5% GDP growth is expected in 2021, the recovery is still fragile and slow to meet the increase in social needs and the expenditure made by the State to minimize the impact of the pandemic. Inflation may exceed 6% this year, double the target set by the Central Bank.
Also in the economic area, the government will have to deal with the effects of the withdrawal of US$ 50 billion from private pension funds, released by Congress in the pandemic, contrary to President Sebastián Piñera.
The success of negotiations to approve the reforms and define the Constituent Assembly’s next steps depends on the government’s relationship with Congress. The plebiscite to approve or reject the new Charter is expected to take place in October, and the new Constitution may have among its articles the change from the presidential system to the parliamentary system, or even the redefinition of the president’s term of office.
In this case, the elected representative might have to call new elections or leave office earlier than expected.
Chile’s success in the vaccination campaign against Covid also represents a high level to be maintained. The country has 85.7% of the population with two doses, and 51.2% with three. THE leaf Rodrigo Yáñez, undersecretary for economics at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the country has enough vaccines to finish immunization with the booster dose and start the application of the fourth dose, but that it is necessary to start negotiations for the campaign in the second half of the year. next year.
Externally, Boric’s election adds to the victories of other left-wing candidates in Latin America, such as Alberto Fernández, in Argentina, Luis Arce, in Bolivia, and Pedro Castillo, in Peru. When he was in Buenos Aires, on December 10 and 11, former president of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) asked Argentine militants and union members to root for Boric’s victory.
Thus, the PT, who has not yet officially announced his candidacy for the presidency but is leading the voting intention polls, would, in case of victory in 2022, be another ally of the future Chilean leader to command a country in the region. On the other hand, with immediate effect, Boric becomes, like Fernández in Argentina, another name not aligned with the current Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Connections with Brazil are not limited to Lula. During this electoral cycle in Chile, a PSOL delegation, led by Guilherme Boulos, went to the country to meet with the various political groups that make up the Frente Amplio. The psolist went to Santiago at the invitation of Boric’s campaign, as well as representatives of the Uruguayan Broad Front, now in opposition, and members of left-wing parties from other countries.
.
