Changes in Chile’s Political Landscape

Cui Shoujun

On December 19， 2021， Chiles presidential election ended the suspense when Gabriel Boric， the candidate of the left-wing coalition Approve Dignity （AprueboDignidad）， surprisingly won the second round of voting with a 55.87% of the vote， being elected the 34th president of Chile. The election was unusual in that it reflected two major changes in Chiles political ecology. The first is that for the first time since 1990， the two mainstream political party coalitions， center-left and center-right， failed to enter the final round for the presidential election. The second is that the traditional elites with strong political credentials have lost in the election， while Boric， a 35-year-old representative of the “millennial generation”， has unexpectedly emerged as the winner. This is a sign that the younger generation is beginning to shape the landscape of Chiles political parties and the direction of its policies， and also marks a new stage in the revival of left-wing progressive forces in Chiles domestic political ecology.

POLITICAL PARTY COALITIONS AND THE EVOLVING LANDSCAPE OF POLITICAL PARTY IN CHILE

Political party coalitions are the hallmark of Chiles multi-party political system， which features a fragmented multi-party competition. Two or more parties with similar ideologies or political ideals forming coalitions has been a long-standing phenomenon in Chilean political practice. Since the beginning of the democratization in 1990， the landscape of Chilean political party has seen the division of dominance by a center-left coalition led by the Socialist Party （PartidoSocialista）， the Party for Democracy （Partidopor la Democracia）， the Radical Party （Partido Radical Social Demócrata）， and the Christian Democratic Party （Partido Demócrata Cristiano）， and a center-right coalition led by the National Renovation （Renovación Nacional） and the Independent Democratic Alliance （Unión DemócrataIndependiente）. Over the past 30 years， the two coalitions have undergone a certain degree of internal differentiation and evolution， but in general， the institutionalization of political party coalitions and the political stability of  Chile have been maintained.

From the perspective of the political system， the development and evolution of political party coalitions in Chile is closely related to the presidential and parliamentary election systems. For one thing， the “majority-runoff two-round system” of presidential elections in Chile has boosted the development of party coalitions. For great majority of political parties， it is difficult to get more than 50% of the votes in the first round by “fighting alone”. However， a coalition of political parties can concentrate the votes of allied parties to a single candidate and largely increases the probability of winning for each party within the coalition.

For another， the “binomial system” in Chiles parliamentary elections lays the basis for the long-standing political monopoly by the two major parties coalitions. After Pinochet， the president of the military government failed to bid for re-election in 1988， electoral rules that favored the distribution of seats among the conservative right-wing forces were made， i.e.， each constituency can only produce two representatives and two senators. A party must receive more than two-thirds of the votes in order to win both seats in a constituency. As long as a party leading in the campaign receives less than two-thirds of the votes， it can only win one seat. The other seat will be distributed to the candidate nominated by the party that receives the second highest number of votes， provided that the candidates support rate is not less than 33%. This electoral system favors the party in second place， which is usually a conservative center-right party. At the same time， the system guarantees both of the major party coalitions win at least one seat in each constituency， which is an incentive for the formation and stability of party coalitions.

The reform of the parliamentary electoral system in 2015 became the main force driving the evolution of the political party landscape in Chile： the political monopoly by the two major party coalitions was undermined and the emerging parties began to rise. In 2015， the Bachelet government enacted a new electoral law that abolished the binomial system in parliamentary election， replaced it with proportional representation system and quota system， redistricted constituencies and created more parliamentary seats， which means opportunities for emerging parties to participate in politics. Since then， new political parties outside the two traditional party coalitions have gradually stepped to the center of Chiles political arena.

In early 2017， the Broad Front （FrenteAmplio）， an emerging coalition of 14 left-wing parties rose to become the third force in Chiles politics and later formed a cooperative alliance with the Communist Party of Chile （PartidoComunista）. After the defeat of the center-left coalition in 2017， the Communist Party of Chile chose to withdraw from the center-left coalition in consultation with the center-left parties and formed the “Unidospor el Cambio” （United for the Change） coalition with other left-wing parties in 2019. In 2020， Unidospor el Cambio was renamed “Chile Digno” （Worthy Chile） and formed the Approve Dignity coalition with the Broad Front as an emerging left-wing coalition for the elections. The victory of the left-wing coalition in this election broke the pattern of center-left and center-right political forces taking turns to rule since the military returned Chiles government to the civilian in 1990. A situation of tripartite competition among left-wing， center-left， and center-right forces has formed. Chiles party politics has entered a new period of adjustment.

THE DEEPER REASONS FOR THE RISE OF THE COALITION OF LEFT-WING PARTIES

Since 1990， Chile has achieved remarkable results in economic reform. With the GDP per capita ranking among the top in Latin America and a high level of economic openness and international cooperation， it has become a model for economic reform in Latin America. However， the fruits of development of market economy have not benefitted the middle and lower classes， and the rapid economic growth has concealed the deep-seated structural problems such as the wide gap between social classes and the weak foundation of social welfare in Chile. The Chilean peoples hatred of social injustice， their disappointment with the center-right government and their urgent desire for reform are the deeper reasons behind Borics victory.

Firstly， social injustice has intensified， but the center-left and center-right coalitions both were paralyzed to bring about change. After the financial crisis in 2008， the problems in income distribution and social injustice have further intensified due to the changes in domestic and international political and economic situation， resulting in peoples growing demand for reform. As governments in a row failed to meet the demands for social change， public discontent gradually accumulated and social tensions reached the verge of breaking out. The election results show that the moderate and progressive reformism and the middle path can no longer satisfy voters appetite for brand-new transformation， and the public expects drastic reforms.

Secondly， the center-right governments performance in power has increased public disappointment and discontent， providing an opportunity for the left-wing coalition to come to power. In October 2019， the Chilean subway fare increase triggered the long-accumulated social tensions， which led to massive and persistent riots across the country， completely exposing the chronic problem of unfair income distribution and the pent-up anger of the grassroots. To alleviate the social conflicts， President Pi?era announced nine reform programs， including raising pensions and canceling electricity charge increases， and replaced eight cabinet ministers before the crisis gradually subsided. As we entered 2020， the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economy hard， making life more difficult for the underclass， and popular protests began to spring up again.

Next， Chilean young voters have become more enthusiastic about political participation， young candidates from the “millennial” generation being highly sought after. According to the latest Chilean census in 2017， young Chilean voters aged 18-34 accounted for 33.9% of the countrys electorate. In stark contrast， Chiles successive leaders have all been over 60 years old during their tenure in office， leaving the young and middle-aged groups politically underrepresented. Boric， who rose to fame during the 2011 street protests against educational injustice， was a latecomer to the political scene but he won the highest votes in the Magellanic-Antarctic Region in two consecutive congressional elections in 2013 and 2017. He has accumulated rich political experience and a better public opinion base. In his campaign speech， he called for “dont be afraid of young people to change the country，” which is in line with the demand of Chiles younger generation for social reforms.

Finally， the political philosophy of the coalition of left-wing parties and Borics campaign ideas correspond to the psychology of the public looking for changes. The political philosophy of the coalition of left-wing parties is based on socialist values， emphasizing equality， change and unity. On this basis， Boric flexibly adjusted his campaign strategy according to changing electoral landscape. He has proposed a series of ideas such as raising corporate income tax， increasing taxes on the ultra-rich， abolishing the privatized pension system and establishing a welfare state， which responded to the publics eagerness for social change and thus won the hearts of the people.

POLICY DIRECTION OF THE LEFT-WING COALITION AFTER TAKING POWER

Based on the political philosophy of the coalition of left-wing parties and Borics election platform， the main policy ideas of the new government can be summarized as follows.

First， at the political level， it will support and advance the constitution-making agenda and ensure the success of the constituent assembly. The current Chilean constitution is still a revised version of the 1980 constitution promulgated under Pinochets military government. Its remaining provisions reflect a political philosophy that contradicts the democratization process which is deeply rooted in the mindset of Chilean people. After the violent protests in 2019， and the center-right government had to formally launch a constitutional revision agenda. Currently， a constituent assembly of 155 democratically elected citizen representatives has begun its work to introduce a new fundamental law of the country， which will be put to a referendum in 2022. The new Chilean government and parliament will function in a transitional period before the constitutional referendum， during which discussions and debates on the provisions of the new constitution will be continuous. Boric will find himself involved by a series of technical issues of constitution-making， as well as taking a firm political stance against the obstruction by conservative forces. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the constitution-making and the implementation of the new constitution， the new government needs to consolidate the unity within the ruling left-wing coalition， expand cooperation with the center-left coalition， and promote political reconciliation with the right-wing opposition in the parliament.

Second， at the economic level， it will focus on strengthening the governments macro-control and promoting tax and mining reforms. In terms of taxation， the first is to reform the taxation system， setting the goal of increasing the ratio of taxation to GDP from 3% to 8%， and proposing a new taxation system for large companies， including raising taxes on mining companies and charge for charters on mining exploitation; the second is to increase the number of taxes， adding super rich tax， huge property tax， decarbonization green tax and other new taxes. The new governments new deal on mining goes beyond tax increases. It also includes opposing the privatization of mineral resources， modernizing Chiles national mining companies， supporting the participation of various parties and foreign companies in state-owned mineral companies， improving the localization of the mining industry chain， and increasing environmental protection efforts.

Third， at the social level， it will improve social justice， equality and inclusiveness， and commit itself to building a welfare state. To eliminate social injustice， the new government led by Boric advocates reforming the income redistribution system， improving social welfare， increasing public expenditure， and reforming the pension， healthcare and education systems dominated by private institutions. In addition， Boric advocates other reforms that empower women， indigenous groups and ethnic minorities to increase social inclusion; pledges to guarantee gender equality through cooperation with the United Nations and to create 500，000 new jobs for women so as to promote sustainable growth that can reach everyone， especially women and micro， small and medium-sized enterprises.

CONCLUSION

Boric has proposed an ambitious governance plan that emphasizes fairness and welfare， equality and isocracy， greenness and environmental protection. He tries to completely reverse Chiles long-standing neoliberal model and truly improve and eliminate the social injustices it has brought about. However， the differences between moderates and communists within the left-wing coalition， the fragile balance between the left and right forces within the parliament， and the uncertainty of the global pandemic all pose challenges to the implementation of his new policies in the future. Although Boric has promised to build Chile into a welfare state， it will not be easy to do so in the face of a congress divided by the left and right. The plan will inevitably encounter many obstacles and challenges， but compared to the rigid situation of two coalitions monopolizing Chiles political scene， the left-wing coalition coming into power will bring new hopes to Chile and chart a new development path for this richest country in Latin America.