It is certainly very difficult to disagree with President Boric’s recent message to parliament and the country. A right-wing analyst notes that left-wing speeches are always more attractive as aesthetically more beautiful, which is generally the case. As far as we could see, the text of the Prime Minister provoked more applause than disagreement.
Who could doubt the President’s good intentions and vocation of service? But how many could deny today that Chile is marked by profound inequalities and that millions of Chileans live in poverty and marginalisation? How many could even deny that we are at a turning point in our history, although important changes have already been consolidated in relation, for example, to the unjust and absurd gender discrimination that shamed us?
On the other hand, how can we not consent to the evidence that we have become a country overwhelmed by violence, organised crime, drug trafficking and other scourges? Or, how many could be unaware that our economy is affected by inflation and the corruption of important business actors who, on a daily basis, commit outright crimes (more than abuses) against consumers?
On the other hand, who could be unaware of the backwardness experienced by the housing deficit, the lack of physical connectivity between our regions, as well as how risky it is to move to the so-called southern and northern macro-zones. Meanwhile, in the centre of the country, especially in the capital, angry social demonstrations, the burning of minibuses, armed assaults on commercial premises, the intimidation of teachers and the destruction of educational establishments are increasingly frequent. Often perpetrated by children and minors.
It is natural and healthy, then, that there has been widespread approval for a presidential message that was very carefully worded, but gave very little clarity as to how the state can achieve its objectives of greater justice and better democracy. At this point, practically everyone agrees in reproaching the onerous historical debt of the State in relation to the Teachers, just as everyone is already aware that thousands of poor young people should not be burdened with a heavy debt for having access to universities. Just as everyone now accepts the existence of miserable pensions and even the right wing criticises the discreet readjustment of the minimum wage, although it is undoubtedly higher than the wage increases granted by previous governments.
The curious thing is that everyone is now “discovering” that the state had far more resources than previously thought and that these reserves were able to successfully overcome the pandemic and the enormous expense this caused to public finances. Such huge monetary reserves that it has not yet occurred to anyone to cut the budgets of the armed forces and police forces, which were admittedly run by corrupt officers who embezzled enormous sums of money in their favour. Many of them remain unpunished, because despite the years that have passed, the uniformed officers are still in a privileged position.
What doubt is there that it will be difficult to finance everything announced by President Boric, if the payment of the so-called historical debt with the teachers alone, such as the cancellation of the state-backed loans (CAE) of university students, will mean nothing less than the equivalent of an annual budget of the nation? Add to this all that the President promised in relation to the extension of railways, or the renewal and acquisition of “dissuasive” weapons for the Carabineros, as well as covering the “intelligence” expenses so indispensable in the fight against crime. It also promised to finance thousands of “decent” housing units and ambitious new infrastructure projects, such as the expansion of ports, reservoirs and other initiatives to mitigate the drought that is hitting agricultural areas in particular. In addition to those investments that would become unavoidable in the face of predictions of shortages and famine in the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
It is not that we suppose that what Boric has announced is utopian or impossible to achieve. The truth is that the diagnosis of the country and the people’s most heartfelt demands require that what has been announced be implemented as soon as possible if the country is not to slide into ungovernability and civil war, the first symptoms of which can be seen in vast areas and populations of Chile.
What we doubt, however, is whether the president’s call for national unity to move forward on the road to social justice and equity will be received. Within the opposition, we think that the prevailing idea is that the government and the Chilean state must take on these challenges, but without the reforms that are necessary to finance, among other urgent needs, decent salaries and pensions, the achievement of a new health system, and an educational system that guarantees universal and equal access. Mitigating or prohibiting greed and profit in the provision of basic services such as water, electricity and gas.
Indeed, the pension reform must obtain effective resources for the State on the basis of imposing high taxes on the profits of large companies, while imposing severe taxes on luxury consumption and on those who have the most, in a country where the concentration of wealth is among the most scandalous in the world. In this task, we already know that the Right will put strong obstacles in the way of the Executive in Parliament, just as it will oppose the possibility of the State undertaking investments in mining and other areas that these sectors want to remain reserved for private initiative and foreign capital. Needless to say, how much the promotion of cooperativism and self-managed enterprises irritates them.
Social spending undoubtedly embitters the existence of the big and powerful investors, so much so that they legislate in favour of trade union association, the right to strike and the reduction of working hours. The political and business opposition is clearly already entrenching itself in the National Congress and in the employers’ organisations not only to abort the possibility of a new Constitution, but also to oppose the economic and social reforms announced by the ruling party.
In the light of our own history, there is no doubt that the militarisation of Araucanía, advocated by the right wing and other hypocritical or incautious sectors, is aimed at enchanting the Armed Forces once again and disposing them to impede the just demands of the native peoples, as well as those of the country’s most vulnerable population. It is quite possible that the terrorist actions taking place in the south and other red zones may be spurred on by drug trafficking, but also by the sectors that have always encouraged military insubordination and those cyclical bloody coups d’état in our history.
President Boric must assume that unity cannot include those sectors with a seditious vocation and who, for example, are still incapable of recognising the genocide of the so-called “Pacification” of Araucanía, as well as the cruel violations of human rights resulting from the military coup of 1973. As the President himself said, it is still necessary to fight for truth, justice and reparation for so many victims. This requires, according to him, finding the disappeared detainees. A purpose that one would have to be very incautious to assume the support of the anti-democratic right wing.
It seems that the government is already uncomfortable with the political, social and economic revolution promised by the Social Outburst and the popular mobilisations. From his first signs, Gabriel Boric seems destined to become a new reformist president, limited to “the extent possible of former president Aylwin”. By reconciling positions with those who have already governed with the Concertación and the New Majority, he risks disappointing the most avant-garde sectors of the country and those who best represent the hopes of the oppressed.
In international relations, too, it is already clear that La Moneda is seeking the consent of Washington and the world powers, rather than strengthening its ties with progressive and Third World regimes. At the same time, condemnations of neo-liberalism or savage capitalism seem to be suspended, although happily the banners of sustainable development and commitment to diversify our energy sources are still held high.
In any case, the approval or rejection of the new Constitution will surely install us in a new political scenario, for better, for worse or for everything to continue more or less the same. What seems clear is that the people are no longer willing to wait any longer. And it is this that explains the rapid loss of support in opinion polls for the new government.
