In seven years, Chilean senator José Manuel Rojo Edwards (Chicago, 46 years old) has resigned from two political parties. In 2016 he joined Renovación Nacional (RN), of the traditional right, and at the beginning of December to the Republican Party, of the ultra-right, of which he was founder in 2019 together with José Antonio Kast, the leader of the community. After his last unchecking, which he announced together with senators Alejandro Kusanovic and Juan Castro –both independents with quotas for RN–, he announced that he will create a “libertarian” movement, which will be “republican” and “in defense of the Chileanness.”
Edwards resigned along with about 80 Republican Party members, although the senator tells EL PAÍS that there are many more. Like the left, but for totally different reasons, this ex-Republican group voted against of the constitutional proposal, the option that won in the plebiscite last Sunday the 17th. It was a text that promoted and supported, precisely, the formation of Kast with the support of Chile Vamos, the traditional right bloc: RN, the UDI and Evopoli.
The group, which does not yet have a name, voted against because many of its members considered the current Magna Carta better, born in 1980 during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), although reformed 70 times since 1989. Also, because there are those who do not believe in the social rule of law that was proposed – the subsidiary State was maintained, implicit in the current text and which gives a leading role to the private sector in the provision of social rights. But, above all, as they said, because Chile had “other emergencies” outside of the constitutional discussion.
This triumph of freedom is also the definitive defeat of Octubrism and President Boric.
Chile's problems were never constitutional and this must be the moment for unity to face the deep crisis of security, work and development increased by so many… pic.twitter.com/SWBHLx3AL8
— Rojo Edwards Senator RM (@RojoEdwards) December 18, 2023
When he won against, Edwards not only celebrated it, he also warned that in two more years, when Chile holds its next presidential elections, “there will be a Government that defends freedom.” Last Friday Kast confirmed that he wants to run for the Palacio de La Moneda race for the third time.
The former constituent and president of Evópoli, Gloria Hutt, described Edwards' group as “a most radical right”, in an interview with The counter. “It is no longer conservative, it is more radical. The Republican has his identity also quite marked. The UDI, RN and Evópoli are more towards the center.”
For Cristóbal Rovira, professor of political science at the Catholic University and one of the authors of the study The extreme right in Latin America: definitions and explanations, the appearance of Edwards “is due above all to internal disputes that are not so much ideological.” “I think he does not feel comfortable being second in the Republican Party,” he says about the senator, who highlights his good political sense: “He knew that it was difficult to win the plebiscite and, therefore, he preferred to leave to channel part of the discontent to the “inside the extreme right.”
The political scientist points out that “the world of the extreme right is diverse” and that there are “groups that are closer to the basic rules of democracy and that present themselves as more moderate -Kast-, while there are others that are very antagonistic to the democracy and who flaunt their radicalism -Milei-. Edwards' bet is to channel this second group that, in part, feels strengthened by Milei's triumph.” But, he adds, “libertarian ideas have a very clear growth ceiling in Chile. In part, because, unlike Argentina, we have a much smaller State, in addition to a feeling of boredom with the abuses of the free market, such as collusion and non-payment of taxes.”
Precisely Edwards, the most visible face of the group, considers the Argentine president, Javier Milei, as “a reference in Latin America.” “I support Milei,” he tells EL PAÍS. But he adds that “Argentina and Chile are very different. Milei is proposing to dollarize the economy and in Chile… please! He is proposing to burn the Central Bank and it works here. “They are different situations.”
Senator Juan Castro, who is also part of the group, opposes being called libertarians: “I don't like the word because it's copying Milei. I talk about freedom. I love talking about roots, values and principles that we had in the 80s, when respect was very important, the word had value and we were united by the common good. This, understanding that I like the free market, but with regulation and I do not like the exploitation of those who have more.”
Castro was active in Renovación Nacional, between 2018 and 2019. Edwards, on the other hand, did the same between 2009 and 2016.
Happy for the CLOSING OF THE PROCESS.
The current constitution is strengthened.
Octubrism is over and the parties that started these processes are weakened.
In 2024 and 2025, we must confirm with candidates who commit to not starting a new constitutional process.
— Christian Social Party (@psc_cristiano) December 19, 2023
Party or movement?
According to Rojo Edwards, the right has four groups in Chile: “The conservatives, who worry about family issues, or the defense of the unborn; the Republicans, in the sense of respect for the law and who demand greater security; the libertarian liberals, of freedom to choose, of a smaller State, of lowering taxes and that the intermediate bodies are independent; and the most patriotic: they defend customs and sovereignty.”
“Today what the Republican Party is not representing is the defense of freedom. And that is why he was able to present a constitutional project in which he forgot about the subsidiary State and proposed a social State of law without defining it to limit it. On the other hand, our proposal has always been a subsidiary State,” he states.
About the movement, Edwards says: “We have to do something with all the people who were left orphaned of representation. It can be through a front, a movement or a party. The Social Christian Party or Avancemos Chile in the north are also part of the right.”
But Senator Juan Castro does not view the group as a party. “There are people, former Republicans, who want to form a party. I'm not in that race. “This movement can be a kind of barrier to return to the values and principles of the center-right that we should not have lost.” “If we form a party, egos of the political class are generated.” And he adds: “I am not extreme right, I am more of common sense. “I am a person who comes from a condition that is not part of a political elite.”
Rojo Edwards, leader of the movement, explains that the ideas that inspire him involve “limiting the power of the State, shrinking it; have a completely independent Central Bank; unrestricted respect for the law; equality before the law; and that there is no privileged group.” And he emphasizes: “There must be equal opportunities and equality before the law. If you work harder than me, it is good that you have the fruit of your labor.”
“Among libertarians there are anarcho-capitalists who do not believe in the role of the State and I am not an anarcho-capitalist. There are minarchists who believe in the role of the State only in terms of justice. And then there are the libertarian liberals, where I do have more affinity: we must reduce the size of the State, increase the amount of resources that are in the productive sector and constitutions are also a way of limiting the power of the State so that there is autonomy. of the intermediate bodies. I do not consider, like some libertarians, that taxes are theft, but they must be reduced. I am also against property taxes and that there should not be contributions at least to the first home [tributos sobre un bien raíz]”, he details.
Juan Castro adds: “Let it be a movement that defends freedom, the principles and values of the political sector. Because people who are part of Chile Vamos and Republicans do not defend them. “That is my biggest concern.”
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