Chile's New Liberal Government
Chile's New Liberal Government
“The Rise of Chile’s Center-Left” is a podcast episode from Latino USA that aired on February 1, 2022. In this episode, host Julio Ricardo Varela and journalist Camila Vergara discuss recent Chile’s political changes. Chile’s 36 year old President Gabriel Boric was elected December 19, 2021. Boric was a leader in the 2011 Chilean student movements, in which they protested the privatization of higher education. I learned that Chile’s president is center-left and they will soon redraft their constitution, one that was made during the rule of dictator Augusto Pinochet. The 155 redrafters of this constitution are “equal number of men and women, as well as 17 representatives of indigenous nations” (Latino 1:36-1:49).
I really enjoyed learning about Chilean politics. I feel as if this news isn’t as publicized in the U.S., so learning about the far-left movements in Chile for the past 10 years is really interesting. It's also interesting to see how Chile's politics and ours are similar, as both Chile and the U.S. have center-left presidents.
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| Student march in Santiago, Chile on August 7, 2011. Photo from Aliosa Marquez, Associated Press. |
Chile, as well as most of Latin America, have privatized higher education, making it more accessible yet much more expensive. These neoliberal reforms “cut funds to public universities,” putting more reliance on their students for funding (Pavlic 4). In 2011, it was “found that 85 percent of spending on higher education in [Chile] came from households” and private university tuition was32% of the GNI and public tuition was 28% of the GNI (Pavlic 6).
Gabriel Boric takes a selfie with his supporters.
Photo by Esteban Felix from the Associated Press.
Despite the massive tuition these students pay, their institutions are not “provid[ing] resources such as tutoring and remedial courses” or adequate access to “housing, meals, [and] libraries” (Pavlic 4). These conditions will obviously lead to student dissatisfaction, especially if they don’t see their government attempting to advocate for them. As Pavlic points out, “student protests… [are] more likely to break out when students… come from working-class families and when they have weak linkages with ruling parties” (Pavlic 5). It was inevitable that these students would protest their education system, as the institutions that they belonged to did not service them as they needed.
The 2011 student protests that Boric participated in were led by New University Action as well as poorer and working-class students. This movement “had widespread support both in the traditional and newer universities” (Pavlic 10). Pavlic found that students were more likely to protest if they came from “a working-class background, [had] tak[en] education loans, and ha[d] weak… connections to governing parties” (Pavlic 13). 
Argentine and Chilean students March in Buenos Aires on August 5, 2011.
Photo by Maxi Failla from Agence France-Presse.
Knowing this, we can understand more about Boric’s political background. Boric likely suffered from the government’s educational reform, taking on the burden of his high costs of education. These movements advocated for access to higher education, a common liberal policy.
Chile's new center left government will hopefully be better advocates for their people. It's also interesting to note that "the right-wingers have half of the Congress" so they "may block everything" (Latino 22:08-22:22:16). So any progressive policies Boric may attempt will likely be blocked by the Republicans. However, independents in Chile are attempting to give the people the power to bypass the government in the Constitution. Hopefully Boric will stay true to his past political efforts and attempt to fix the egregious educational costs in Chile, reaching out and connecting to the working-class.
If Boric does not advocate for and connect with the working class, his government may not be able to succeed. As Pavlic explained, "connections between [ruling parties] and social movements will typically decrease mobilization" (Pavlic 5). So if Boric continues to advocate for the people, as he has done in his past, he will be able to keep his position and hopefully be able to bypass the split Congress.
Failla, Maxi. “Argentine and Chilean Students March to the Chilean Consulate in Buenos Aires. .” The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2011, https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/08/student-protests-in-chile/100125/. Accessed 3 May 2022.
Felix, Esteban. “Gabriel Boric Takes a Selfie with Members of His Electoral Campaign.” The Guardian, Guardian News & Media Limited, 18 Nov. 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/18/a-fairer-chile-ex-student-leader-bids-to-reshape-country-in-divisive-election. Accessed 3 May 2022.
“Gabriel Boric to Be Sworn in as Chile's New President on Friday.” YouTube, Al Jazeera English, 11 Mar. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqOKlNaWyqA. Accessed 3 May 2022.
Marquez, Aliosha. “People March during a Protest by Students Demanding Access to Free Quality Public Education in Santiago, Chile.” The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2011, https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/08/student-protests-in-chile/100125/. Accessed 3 May 2022.
Santana, Claudio. “Student Leader Gabriel Boric Delivers a Speech during a Protest in Santiago.” TIME, TIME USA, 28 Aug. 2012, https://time.com/6121561/gabriel-boric-chile-election/. Accessed 3 May 2022.
Varela, Julio Ricardo. "The Rise of Chile's Center Left." Spotify, journalist Camila Vergara, Latino USA, 1 February 2021, https://open.spotify.com/episode/2hyDTsqq37gGGAqILOlkGE?si=a6493ec644244216.
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