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International
A New Era of Democracy in Chile By Sophie Treacy, SS Law The end of 2021 signalled a new beginning for progressive democracy in Chile. The latest Chilean general election took place last December against the backdrop of great civil and political unrest across the nation. Mass demonstrations had been taking place in Chile since October 2019, when a group of students took to the streets to protest fare hikes across public transport services. Their actions quickly led to a surge of civil protests in Santiago, the Chilean capital, as countless civilians demanded change within the neoliberal free market economy, which many view as the legacy of the Pinochet military dictatorship. Over the past two years, more than two million Chileans have gathered to protest against many issues, including Chile’s strict abortion laws, inadequate access to health care, great wealth inequality, and the unequal provision of basic civil needs such as state pensions and education. In the wake of the mass civil unrest, Chileans were faced with a choice between two Presidential candidates. In what was a deeply polarising and divisive election, José Antonio Kast, known for his far-right policies and endorsement of the previous military dictatorship regime, ran against former student protest leader and left-wing activist, Gabriel Boric. Widely regarded as a surprise result, Boric was elected by a narrow margin to become Chile’s youngest ever President, indicating the beginning of the kind of change that had been demanded on the streets of Santiago two years previously. President-elect Boric’s election campaign was characterised by his feminist and egalitarian platform. In the lead up to the election, Boric focused on the importance of rebuilding a “feminist economy” in Chile and challenging the sexist norms inherent in the education system. Indeed, Chile has historically been regarded as one of the most conservative countries in Latin America, with women only gaining the right to vote in 1949. By contrast, Boric’s campaign placed great weight on the importance of tackling women’s rights issues such as the gender pay gap, access to reproductive healthcare, and female participation in the workforce. Boric also ran on the basis of other socially inclusive policies, vowing to include members of the LGBTQ+ community and Indigenous Chileans as equal “protagonists of his government.” He also promised to implement a new welfare state in Chile, the country that is credited with inventing the neoliberal economic model. While Boric is yet to be formally inaugurated, it seems that he is already delivering on some of the radical change that was promised. Last month, he appointed fourteen women to his twenty-four-member Cabinet, by far the highest proportion of female Cabinet members in Chilean history. Women now hold key positions of influence, including Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice and Human Rights, and Minister of National Defence. For the first time, the Minister of Women and Gender Equity, who is tasked with creating policies to combat gender discrimination in Chile, will make up part of Boric’s “political team,” an inner Cabinet made up of the President’s most trusted advisors. Boric’s appointment of a diverse and representative Cabinet certainly sets the tone for the highly anticipated paradigmatic shift in Chilean politics. The election of Gabriel Boric is not the only factor contributing to the current political flux in Chile. The country is currently in the midst of drafting a new constitution to replace the existing one that emerged during the Pinochet dictatorship. This current constitution lays the foundation for a neoliberal, market-driven economy that has been widely criticised for giving rise to great wealth disparity, curtailing access to abortion services, and inadequately providing for public education and healthcare. In the creation of a new constitution, a constituent assembly has formed, composed equally of men and women, to draft a document that paves the way for a new era of democracy in Chile.
