Some renowned Chilean columnists often say that at the heart of the Chilean idiosyncrasy lives a Venezuelan: Andrés Bello. Bello wrote the Chilean Civil Code and was a man passionate about the search for political, social and existential order. It is not a matter of immobility, but of an order grateful for the inheritance, which tends to emerge from transformations or ruptures as a guide that allows overcoming them. Chile is a seismic country that builds buildings and politics seeking stability. There is some reason in the opinion of those columnists, and this first year of Gabriel Boric’s presidency is an excellent example.
In October 2019, Chile experienced one of these ruptures. The search for order to overcome the chaos prevailing in the streets resulted in the political and social consensus that agreed, by a large majority (78%), to write a new Constitution. On the other hand, as the Chilean right had been unable to explain and deal with the fever that had seized the country, political profit was capitalized to a greater extent by the Frente Amplio (Broad Front), a radical progressive left conglomerate inspired by Podemos [Partido esquerdista da Espanha]. This resulted in the presidential candidacy of Gabriel Boric, one of the front-runner deputies with the most recognized trajectory.
During the first round of elections, Boric behaved like the young revolutionary he was at the congress. However, the results of the first elections were not encouraging for him, nor did they indicate overwhelming revolutionary conviction. During the second round, he presented himself as a calmer, more mature man, open to dialogue. Respectful of institutions, but eager for change. The Chilean people wanted to believe him — or discarded the opponent — and gave him their majority vote.
The bankrupt bet on the Constitution
Boric took charge of the country in March 2022, in the middle of the constitutional process. His government had pinned its hopes on the new text, which would have the face of the revolutionary October that created it. Indeed, he expressly stated that program reforms could not be pushed forward without the new Constitution. Thus, the president’s first serious mistake was to link his government to this proposed Constitution.
It so happened that the elected convention in charge of writing it, still intoxicated with the incendiary adrenaline of 2019, wrote a text that tried to refound the country from its political, legal and economic foundations. Diluted the Senate, put the separation of powers at serious risk, decreed that Chile was a plurinational country due to its ethnic diversity, affected the ability of parents to be the first educators and choose their educational system, consecrated free abortion as a constitutional right and it made citizens’ rights over their pension funds uncertain. In addition, the convention filled sessions with performances that included children’s costumes, songs that modified the national anthem, or painted bodies.
For many people, instead of resolving a conflict, the new Constitution would introduce many problems that Chile had managed to avoid so far. Polls indicated the growing discontent and disappointment that people felt about the work of conventional constituents, but they ignored the warnings. For them, the polls were being manipulated by power groups. They were confident that people would fully identify with the proposals. In addition, the novelty of a feminist, indigenist and progressive Constitution had the approval of international organizations. What could go wrong?
Everything went wrong for the calculations of a progressive left, too self-absorbed and hasty. On September 4, 2022, when Boric had been in the presidency for seven months, the same Chilean people who had overwhelmingly approved the idea of drafting a new constitutional text rejected the proposal at the polls with 62% of the votes, in the vote with the highest turnout in the country’s history.
The government’s initial thesis was that this result was due to a disinformation campaign by the media, although it has also been suggested that, in their opinion, Chileans were not advanced enough to appreciate the benefits of the project. Logically, this subtle contempt for the people introduced a new rift with him. But, in addition to being offensive, the explanation was not capable of dealing with the underlying issue: the country, although yearning for important changes that would solve social problems, was not willing to throw itself into the void of refoundation.
In pursuit of public order and economic stability
Without the support of the magna carta under his arm, Boric was forced to start governing in a presidential chair that suddenly became extremely uncomfortable. The rejection of the new Constitution also rejected the government’s program and its conditions of possibility, and consequently it was left without a program. To make matters worse, he had to start dealing with two major problems that he himself helped to create in his days as a congressman with a scruffy beard, semi-shaven hair and a tattoo on display. We are talking about public order and economic stability, the new central concerns of the population.
October 2019 brought serious manifestations of violence, including the synchronized burning of seventy metro stations, churches and commercial establishments. As these criminal acts were intertwined with legitimate peaceful social protests, the narrative of an important part of the left considered that both things were equivalent, and that violence was a necessary means to make protests visible. Public order forces were essentially repressors of the people, defenders of the ruling elites. Gabriel Boric himself, then deputy, faced a group of soldiers in front of the cameras. “They are carrying weapons of war!” he shouted indignantly. For him, as for his political colleagues, state agents were only allowed to use dialogue, never weapons.
But approving violence came at a high price. Once in office, Boric had to deal with the increase in the number and severity of crimes. It is no longer about protests, but about a complex plot that includes terrorism in the south of the country, the presence of new drug traffickers and uncontrolled immigration. Thus, people’s priorities gradually focused on demands for security. Aware of this, the president began to respond to the citizens’ anguish in his speeches, but was considered a traitor by his political bases.
They then demanded the fulfillment of an old campaign promise, which was now becoming very politically sensitive: the release of some arrested during the violent demonstrations of October 2019. The police advised against it: they were criminals with heavy criminal records. Despite this, Boric, under pressure, agreed and thirteen prisoners were pardoned. Second serious mistake, which cost the country’s confidence. While the police already mourn several police officers killed at the hands of criminals, the president appears at funerals, embraces the relatives of the deceased between speeches of support and promises to end criminality through laws against organized crime. He even admits that it is necessary to reflect on that past that torments him today, but he does not convey credibility.
On the other hand, Chile is facing an inflation scenario the like of which it has not seen in decades. Although several Western countries are also experiencing severe price increases, the Chilean situation has its particularities. During the pandemic, bills were passed that allowed people to withdraw their pension funds early. The measure had serious social security and capital market consequences, and rapid liquidity aggravated inflation. Everything had been warned by the economists. The then deputy Boric voted in favor of the initiative, and now he must not only account for that vote, but also stop attempts to repeat the experience.
A new Boric?
Faced with this, the government finds itself in the impossible situation of having to “ally with the right” to respond to the current demands of citizens, because order and the economy are the strongholds of the opposition. Crime control and fiscal balance, which were not a concern of the deputy, become urgent for the president. In contrast, the reforms that align him with his original caucus do not have a parliamentary majority.
All this results in an image crisis for Boric. In one year, he has gone from being a rock star to a lowly approved president, who instead of cheers and gifts gets insults. Not surprisingly, he has tied his fate to that of the new Constitution and has been profoundly inconsistent in his words and actions. Who is Boric? Is it the former revolutionary deputy? Has he really taken a sensible turn for the country and will he govern to bring it back to stability? We’re still not sure. We know, however, who Chileans are: the people who build after earthquakes, but with their own materials and designs, suited to their land, which guarantee solidity. If Boric learns to read Andrés Bello’s mark on the idiosyncrasy of the people he governs, he will have a better chance of success than he has had so far.
©2023 ACEPRENSA. Published with permission. original in Spanish.
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