Chile's far right prevails in Constitutional Council election


The Republican Party emerged as the leading political force in the election on Sunday, May 7. But the far right has always been opposed to writing a new constitution.

"Pure, Chile, is your blue sky": At the headquarters of the Republican Party (far right) in the Santiago metropolitan area, party members concluded their victory celebration by singing the national anthem on Sunday, May 7. The results of the election to the Constitutional Council, a 50-person body responsible for drafting a new constitution, were accompanied for two hours by cheers and Chilean flags waving in the air. The far right's victory is indisputable. The party, born in 2019 and bearer of the most conservative project in Chilean politics, has imposed itself as one of the most powerful forces, far ahead of its opponents, with 35.4% of the vote.

"I'm happy. It's a punishment for the [left-wing] government, which has not been able to understand the needs of the population: the fight against insecurity and immigration," said José Hidalgo, a 61-year-old teacher, from the Republican Party headquarters. He was referring to the issues that worry Chileans most and have fed the growth of the far right, which benefitted from the compulsory nature of the vote. "Today I feel proud, I hope that this constitution will establish rules against delinquency," said Isidora Gonzalez, a 22-year-old student, who held the flag of her country against her chest.

But immigration and crime are issues that are not supposed to feed into the deliberations of the fundamentals of the future constitution, which is supposed to outline the structure of the government and the main principles of a model society. The new text will replace the current constitution, written during Chile's military dictatorship (1973-1990).

The disappearance of the Center

"I invite the Republican Party (...) not to make the same mistake that we [the left-wing forces] made," said President Gabriel Boric on Sunday evening after the results were announced, referring explicitly to the first attempt at constitutional rewriting. In May 2021, a radically different assembly had been appointed: 155 people, mostly left-wing and independent. For a year, they worked on a text that enshrined new social rights (education, health, housing); but it was too progressive, according to critics. The concept of a multinational state, recognizing indigenous populations as nations, had particularly revolted many voters.

In September 2022, 62% of Chileans rejected the proposal. A part of the left then conducted self-criticism, admitting that the right and center had not been listened to and included when formulating the new text. "When the pendulum of history moves incessantly from one extreme to the other in a short time, it is always the most vulnerable people who lose. (...) Leadership consists in stopping this pendulum movement," Boric said on Sunday evening.

SANTIAGO, May 7 (Reuters) - Chilean right-wing parties won a majority of votes on Sunday to elect advisers to draft a new constitution, marking a sharp shift from a progressive majority that drafted a failed first constitutional rewrite.

With 95.13% of ballots tallied, Chile's Republican Party, led by former conservative firebrand presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast, secured nearly 35% of the vote.

A separate coalition of traditional right-wing parties gained just over 20% of the vote, while President Gabriel Boric's left-wing coalition garnered about 29%. Centrist parties took the remainder of the vote.

"Today is the first day of a better future, a new start for Chile," Kast, who lost to Boric in 2021, said during a speech in Santiago. "Chile has defeated a failed government."

The final results will determine the exact make-up of a 50-seat Constitutional Council that will be in charge of drafting a new constitution. Articles will need a three-fifths majority to be approved.

This is the latest step in a years-long effort to overhaul the country's dictatorship-era text after nearly 80% of Chileans voted to draft a new constitution in 2020 following violent protests against inequality.

The constitutional advisers elected on Sunday will start drawing up a new constitution in June based on a draft compiled by 24 constitutional experts appointed by Congress in March. Voters will then approve or reject the new proposal in December.

The first rewrite was drafted by largely independent and left-wing constituents and it focused on social benefits, environmental rights, gender parity and indigenous rights.

It was considered one of the world's most progressive constitutions, but many voters found it too polarizing and the process was mired by controversies.

Boric, who took office last March, rose to power on a wave of optimism surrounding reform, but his approval ratings have since plummeted as a struggling economy and rising crime have become the main concerns for voters.

Boric also suffered a political defeat after throwing his weight behind the first rewrite, which was rejected by nearly 62% of voters. The president has since distanced himself from the process but vowed to support it.

"The government won't meddle with the process and will respect the entity's autonomy in its deliberation," Boric told reporters Sunday morning after voting, adding that the government would act as a guarantor and support requests from the new council.

After Kast's victory speech, Boric spoke from La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago and called for unity and urged the opposition to learn from the previous failed attempt.

"I want to invite the Republican Party, that's won an unquestionable majority, to not make the same mistakes we made," Boric said. "This process can't be about vendettas, but putting Chile first."

José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966), also known by his initials JAK, is a Chilean lawyer and politician. Kast ran for president in 2021, winning the first round and losing in the second round run-off to Gabriel Boric.

Part of the Kast family, his father was a lieutenant in the Nazi army and his brother Miguel Kast worked as ministry of state and president of the Central Bank of Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Sretnem nedavno lika koji je proveo nekoliko godina u Čileu. Jako mi je nahvalio tu zemlju. Kaže da je razvijena kao Austrija. Pored toga tvrdi da je tamo super biti Hrvat, da su elita i da se naši drže čvršće nego Židovi.

‘OVO JE POTRES‘
Šokantan debakl predsjednika hrvatskih korijena, samljela ga ultradesnica

U više zemalja Latinske Amerike uz slogan „Bog, domovina, obitelj i sloboda“ ultradesničari marširaju prema pobjedi

Piše:Gojko Drljača

Dojam je kako nakon razdoblja pandemije u više država dolazi do masovnih i strelovitih promjena političkih stavova građana, a Čile je jedan od najboljih primjera.

Čileanski predsjednik Gabriel Boric - inače praunuk hrvatskog iseljenika s Ugljana Ive Borića Barišića koji je među prvima naselio u Magallanes – doživio je šokantni debakl na izborima koji su odlučivali o sastavu specijalnog komiteta za izmjene ustava pisanog u doba zloglasnog diktatora Pinocheta. Boric kao donedavni politički šampion i aktualni predsjednik sada nije bio niti blizu bilo kakvog političkog uspjeha u žestokoj bitki za stolice u supervažnom komitetu; njegova Convergencia Social stranka dobila je svega 5,7 posto glasova te je ispala tek četvrta po zastupljenosti.

No, sve je iznenadila uvjerljivost dominacije ultradesničarske Republicanos stranke, koja je dobila 35,6-postotnu podršku, te se pokazalo kako u ovom trenutku uopće nema suvislu političku konkurenciju. Republicanos je osnovana tek 2019. godine, a potomak hrvatskog iseljenika, Boric, na prošlim je čileanskim predsjedničkim izborima pobijedio upravo predstavnika Republicanosa, ultrakonzervativnog odvjetnika Jose Antonia Kasta.

U Čileu će tako najveći utjecaj na izmjene ustava imati stranka čiji članovi zapravo najviše dijele svjetonazor Pinocheta i njegove sljedbe, koja je relativno dugo uspješno maskirala diktatorski teror tobože liberalnim ekonomskim politikama, u kojem se poslovni uspjesi često nisu postizali sukladno liberalnim principima nego uz adekvatne političke pozicije. Bilo kako bilo, ostaje činjenica da se uz gaženje građanskih prava i brutalni teror Pinochetovog režima Čile može pohvaliti višedesetljetnom putanjom gospodarskog rasta kao malo koja zemlja na planetu, dok po tome u Latinskoj Americi ostaje jedinstven.

Poraz u izborima članova komiteta za izmjenu ustava velik je osobni poraz za Borica koji je tijekom građanskih nemira 2019. godine bio jedan od glavnih promotora ustavnog referenduma te donošenja ‘progresivnog ustava‘. Nakon godinu dana Boricevog lijevog mandata, čini se da su njegove ‘progresivne‘ ideje izgubile na cijeni, ali će u povijesti ostati zapisana činjenica kako je barem neko vrijeme bio drugi najmlađi predsjednik države na svijetu, odmah iza Ibrahima Traorea iz Burkine Faso, iako je napunio pristojnih 37 godina te se teško i dalje može nazivati mladićem.

Čileancima, njihovim susjedima i ostatku svijeta sada se nameće pitanje što će donijeti rast popularnosti ultradesnih Republicanosa. Osobno njihov lider Jose Antonio Kast ima ‘prirodne‘ reference ‘kvalitetnog‘ desničara koji bi lijepo mogao funkcionirati i u nomenklaturi Pinocheta. Tata mu je bio poručnik Wehrmachta i član Nacističke partije, brat mu je vodio Centralnu Banku Čilea za vrijeme Pinocheta, a on je nakon karijere u Nezavisnoj demokratskoj uniji stvorio ekstremno desni think tank Republican Ideas, pa potom i novu političku silu Republicanose. Kast nudi već viđenu kombinaciju teoretske promocije politika naklonjenih slobodnom tržištu (za one odabrane), inzistira na strogom poštivanju zakona i reda, a protivnik je pobačaja, istospolnih brakova i ilegalnih imigranata.

„Ovo je zemljotres u politici Čilea“, poručuje čileanski novinar Rocio Montes u El Paisu te pojašnjava kako je ljevica u komitetu za izmjenu ustava samo 17 mjesta, što znači da neće čak moći niti uložiti veto na prijedloge desnice.

„Danas su Čileanci pobijedili apatiju, bezdušnost i nebrigu“, ushićeno je pak komentirao pobjedu Kast.

Njegov uspjeh je iznenađujući jer je još 2020. godine 80 posto građana podržavalo promjene ustava 2020., i to uz burne prosvjede, a Republicanosi su jamstvo da bi novi ustav mogao biti još više desno-konzervativan nego što je onaj pisan za Pinocheta.

U više zemalja Latinske Amerike diže se ultradesnica. Ekstremno desno-populistički kandidat Paraguayo Cubas u Paragvaju je završio kao treći s velikih 23 posto, pa je orkestrirao prosvjede na kojima je sve optužio za izbornu pljačku. Zbog toga je uhićen, što diže tenzije i vodi prema polarizaciji. I u krizom pogođenoj Argentini ultra desni kvazilibertarijanac, Javier Milei, izgleda da se promiče u jednog od najjačih nacionalnih predsjedničkih kandidata. On i Bolsonaro bili su veliki prijatelji te su zajedno naglašavali kako neće dopustiti da Latinska Amerika postane Sovjetski savez te su dijelili zajedničke vrijednosti.

Njihova ideološka parola bila je i ostala: Bog, domovina, obitelj i sloboda“.