Chilean Stalemate
By Camila Vergara
10 December 2021
In the upcoming presidential ballot on 19 December, Chileans will be asked to choose between a far-right Pinochet apologist and a social democrat – not, as outlets like the Economist and Financial Times have claimed, between ‘two extremists’ offering different variants of populism.
In the first round of the elections on 21 November, which drew only 47% of the electorate to the polls, José Antonio Kast – a member of the Chamber of Deputies who founded the nationalist Republican Party – won a majority with 1.96 million votes (28% of votes cast). In close second, with 1.8 million votes, was Gabriel Boric: also a member of the Chamber of Deputies, a former student leader turned candidate of the Apruebo Dignidad, which includes the ‘new left’ coalition Frente Amplio and the electoral pact Chile Digno, composed of the Communist Party, ecologists, regionalists and the Christian left. Commentators were once again dumbfounded. How, after a popular uprising against neoliberalism and Pinochet’s constitution, could an unashamed neofascist win the largest share of the vote?
Continue reading at https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/184
Money Rushes Out of Chile as Cracks Deepen in Economic Model
Dec 15, 2021
(Bloomberg) — For decades, Chileans watched from afar as their South American neighbors grappled with galloping inflation, financial crashes and extreme political swings, destabilizing forces that compelled the wealthy to send hundreds of billions of dollars to havens in Switzerland, the Cayman Islands or the U.S.
But now, the long-stable Andean nation is getting a taste of that turmoil. A mix of social upheaval, plans for a new constitution and the most polarized election in recent memory is sapping Chileans’ faith in their currency.
The pace of foreign outflows from individuals and non-financial companies has accelerated, reaching $8.8 billion in the six months through August and $24.3 billion in the past two years, according to data from the central bank. That’s equivalent to more than 9% of annual gross domestic product.
Continue reading at https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/money-rushes-out-of-chile-as-cracks-deepen-in-economic-model-1.1696241
Chile: Close To Electing Its Next New President
Dec 15, 2021
Next Sunday, Chileans will vote for their next president, and the north of the country will represent a key percentage on the election between far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast and leftist Gabriel Boric.
The second round of the elections between the presidential candidates Jose Antonio Kast and Gabriel Boric will be held on December 19.
“I think a lot of people understand the importance of this election,” declared a member of the Red de Politologas, a network of female political scientists, Daniela Campos Letelier. For the second round campaigns, presidential candidates have centered their attention more in the center of the country in order to win voters in that region. However, only one of the candidates had to repurpose their platform.
Continue reading at https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Chile-Close-To-Electing-Its-Next-New-President-20211215-0021.html
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