Chilean Right Buoyed By Rise In Crime and Scandals On The Left

Chilean Right Buoyed by Rise in Crime, Scandals on Left Chile Outgoing Chilean President Gabriel Boric is lobbying hard in the capital of Santiago for progressive legislation that would expand abortion rights and permit euthanasia. The bills are vital to Boric’s legacy because he has failed to fulfill other left-wing pledges he made when he assumed office three years ago, including liberal tax reforms that never passed, pension reforms that did not eliminate private pension fund administrators as promised, and a proposed liberal constitution that voters rejected in a 2022 referendum, according to Reuters. The abortion bill would decriminalize the procedures for as long as 14 weeks after conception. The euthanasia bill would permit euthanasia and assisted suicide for citizens older than 18, the Associated Press reported. Boric’s urgency highlights his tough political position. Unable to run for a consecutive, four-year term under the Chilean constitution, Boric won’t be on the ballot in the upcoming election in November. Now, unless he shows that he can deliver on his campaign promises, Boric’s successors are likely to be conservatives who try to erase any influence he has had on the South American country. Boric’s approval ratings stand at around 22 percent, United Press International wrote, despite enacting some leftist policies like limiting the workweek to 40 hours and increasing the minimum wage. Still, Chileans are far more worried about spiking levels of crime and political scandals involving his administration, analysts said. Frontrunners in the presidential race, meanwhile, are all on the right. Leading the pack is conservative economist Evelyn Matthei, 71, the daughter of a general who served under dictator Augusto Pinochet, who ruled the country for 17 years, World Politics Review explained. She had campaigned to allow Pinochet to remain in power and to defeat efforts to bring perpetrators of crimes against humanity during his regime to justice. She has pledged to crack down on immigration but also supports gay marriage and abortion. She compares herself to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a noted pragmatist. A close contender is far-right candidate, José Antonio Kast, 59, the son of a Nazi émigré to Chile and who lost to Boric in the last election. A long-serving congressman for the south side of Santiago, his late brother served as a minister under Pinochet, whose regime Kast has defended. He is rising in the polls. Another candidate is Axel Kaiser, 43, a libertarian who styles himself after Argentine President Javier Milei, who has slashed government programs and criticized left-wing policies. Kast and Kaiser have pledged to crack down on immigration, too. “I worked as a laborer, as a waiter, as a bond salesman, I’ve done a thousand different things,” Kaiser told America Quarterly. “(Boric) was a student activist, entered Congress, and became president. He’s never worked a day in his life.” All three want to put an end to Boric’s policies, added the American Conservative, and the public is receptive: “Boric, once the shining star of the young Latin American left, is now an exhausted political figure, as the region’s youth turn rightwards in concert with much of the world.”