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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chile's Right Has Pole Position in the Race to Replace Boric
Six months out from Chile's presidential election scheduled for Nov. 16, the field is crowded. But one thing seems likely: The nation of 20 million will pivot sharply to the right, after six years in which the progressive idealism represented by President Gabriel Boric and his leftist Broad Front, or FA, party has held sway. Leading the pack to replace Boric, who rode the progressive wave to power in 2022 but can't run for re-election due to a constitutional bar on consecutive terms, are three figures from the traditional and radical right. According to a May 16 survey by polling firm Cadem, 17 percent of voters would like to see Evelyn Matthei of the Independent Democratic Union, or UDI, become Chile's next leader, down from a recent high of 26 percent in December. A 71-year-old economist who until recently served as district mayor of Providencia in the heart of Santiago, the capital, Matthei has traditionally cut a technocratic, moderate figure. Matthei's father was a top general during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, and she herself campaigned in support of Pinochet remaining in power in the 1990 referendum that ended his 17-year rule, while also backing efforts for him to avoid prosecution for the crimes committed in that time. But she is supportive of gay marriage and abortion, and as a presidential candidate in 2013 compared her policies to those of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In December, Matthei called for 'less ideology, more pragmatism' in Chilean politics, and has promised to cut government waste and corporate taxes in order to restore annual GDP growth to 4 percent, a rate it last averaged between 1991 and 2005. Yet with half of those surveyed by Cadem saying crime is the main reason holding back growth, ultraconservatives have sought to outflank Matthei's center-right Chile Vamos coalition on public safety and illegal immigration. In response, Matthei has taken to filming campaign spots in the Atacama, the arid northern region through which most migrants cross, while announcing a plan to deploy soldiers and drones to the border, repatriate both illegal migrants and 3,000 convicted foreign nationals, and construct a maximum-security jail in the middle of the desert. To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter. 'I'm not going to allow us to lose Chile,' she said in unveiling the plan last month. 'We're going to be very tough, very drastic, very radical.' She has also indicated that she would consider following the lead of U.S. President Donald Trump by sending convicts from organized crime groups like Venezuela's Tren de Aragua to be imprisoned in El Salvador. And in March, following a high-profile double murder, she suggested that the death penalty, which has been outlawed in Chile since 2001, 'should be applied in some cases.' However, Matthei's hardened tone may not be enough to stop the return of Jose Antonio Kast, the 59-year-old far-right leader who lost to Boric in the 2021 presidential contest. In last week's poll, Kast finished with 17 percent support, up from 8 percent in February. A long-serving UDI congressman for the south side of Santiago, Kast is the son of a Nazi emigre to Chile, and his late brother served as a minister under Pinochet, whose regime Kast has also defended. He even went so far as to say that if the dictator were still alive, he would vote for him. After leaving Congress in 2018, Kast broke with the UDI and founded his populist Republican Party the following year. He has styled himself after former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and made law and order the central component of his three presidential runs to date. But unlike Matthei, Kast combines this with a strident defense of 'family values' and an anti-system message. 'Chile is on the edge of the abyss,' he told supporters in January, blaming 'a political class that has systematically failed to protect Chileans,' while implying that Matthei belonged to 'the same old crowd.' Responding to the latest polling, Kast says he sees a 'growing possibility' of a first-round victory in November. That seems unlikely because the conservative vote will be split, and not only between him and Matthei. Axel Kaiser, a 49-year-old outsider congressman who came to prominence on YouTube condemning Boric's first ill-fated effort to rewrite Chile's Pinochet-era constitution in 2022, is also in the running. Kaiser, who left Kast's movement to found his own National Libertarian Party in 2024, also demands mass deportations of migrants. Modeling himself after the inflammatory style of Argentine President Javier Milei, he lambasts the political 'caste,' has said he would shut down public hospitals if elected and has also questioned whether women securing the right to vote 'was a good idea.' Support for Kaiser has slipped in recent weeks, from a high of 15 percent in April to just 6 percent in May, with Kast seemingly eating into his and Matthei's vote. The three will not hold an opposition primary to present a unified candidate, instead opting to test their strength on polling day in November. In the likely event of no candidate winning more than 50 percent of the vote, the second- and third-placed figures on the right are likely to fall in behind either Kast—as in 2021, when he lost to Boric—or Matthei, positioning them for a second-round victory on Dec. 14. Chile's left, by contrast, will hold a primary open to all voters on June 29 to decide who will take up the standard from Boric. The sitting president has notched up a series of incremental social reforms: raising the minimum wage, increasing pension payouts, capping the working week at 40 hours, reviving parts of Chile's passenger rail network and passing legislation to tackle sexual harassment and support people with autism. But these have been overshadowed by the failure of the constitutional reform process he championed and high levels of violent crime, as well as a handful of damaging blunders. These include Boric's delay in removing a trusted Interior Ministry official accused of sexual abuse and a rolling, multimillion-dollar cronyism and campaign-finance scandal involving NGOs with close ties to his administration. Fresh revelations involving the latter saw the president's disapproval rating spike to 70 percent in May, a peak registered only twice before since he took office in March 2022. As a result, the left seems demoralized and disorganized. Its best-placed candidate is Carolina Toha, a 60-year-old who recently stepped down as Boric's interior minister to run for the presidency. A political scientist, former congresswoman, ex-mayor of Santiago and senior figure in the center-left administration of former President Michelle Bachelet from 2009 to 2012, Toha is seen as a steady and pragmatic hand. Addressing her fellow members of the Party for Democracy, or PPD, in April, she spoke of the need to build a 'modern, efficient' and pro-growth progressive movement, and to fight the 'planetary phenomenon' of anti-democratic, authoritarian populism, which she said 'has its imitators in Chile.' But just 10 percent of those polled last week say they will vote for Toha, suggesting she is tarnished by her association with Boric. The same is likely true of Congressman Gonzalo Winter, a former student leader and the reluctant presidential candidate for the Broad Front, who took just 6 percent. Jeannette Jara of the Communist Party, who served as Boric's labor minister, notched 5 percent. Two prominent progressives who may have gained more traction—Bachelet, 73, and the Communist Party's Camila Vallejo, 37—have ruled out running. With little enthusiasm to carry on Boric's project even among its leading lights, the momentum is clearly with Chile's insurgent conservative forces. Matthei and Kast also have the backing of the country's corporate press and most of the private sector, and seem buoyed by a regional rightward wave that seems likely to break over Peru, Brazil and Colombia in 2026. Yet centrist and left-wing sympathies may coalesce around the figure of Toha once the primary, with its state funding and TV coverage, is concluded. She can also take comfort from the failed constitutional reform process that played out in 2022 and 2023. After the failed referendum on an initial ultra-progressive draft championed by Boric, far-right factions led by Kast's Republican Party triumphed in a May 2023 election that seated a second constitutional convention. But when those delegates produced a correspondingly ultraconservative document, the public soundly rejected that one as well. It's a hint that, after years of tumult following the explosion of nationwide anti-inequality protests in 2019 and the subsequent hardships of the pandemic, a significant constituency of centrist voters are simply searching for safe harbor from the extremes. That may be enough to stave off the challenge from Kast and Kaiser. But assuming she is not pulled too far rightward in the meantime and barring any unforeseen developments, Matthei—with her promise of a hardline but socially tolerant conservatism—still enjoys the pole position. Laurence Blair is a freelance journalist covering South America and the author of 'Patria,' an alternative history of the continent to be published in November 2024. You can follow him on Twitter at @laurieablair. The post Chile's Right Has Pole Position in the Race to Replace Boric appeared first on World Politics Review.
The Star
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Chile aims to unlock billions in investments
Chile's Finance Minister Mario Marcel. — Bloomberg NEW YORK: Chile's government is readying legislation to unlock billions of US dollars of investments by speeding up the approval process, following years of complaints over excessive red tape, Finance Minister Mario Marcel says. The government will introduce a bill overhauling environmental impact assessments to accelerate the evaluation of decarbonisation projects worth more than US$7.5bil, Marcel told investors at the annual Chile Day event in New York last Friday. The administration will also expedite more than 100 other investment proposals. Overall, Marcel identified six sectors that are most promising due to Chile's comparative advantages: mining, lithium, renewable energy, green hydrogen, the digital economy and tourism. 'There's interest in investing in Chile, not only from those who have already been producing and investing there for many years but also from new entrants, people who want to enter new industries,' Marcel said in a subsequent interview. 'That's what's going to give Chile a greater capacity to boost its economy.' Marcel expects Chile's gross domestic product (GDP) to expand about 2.5% this year, boosted by a rebound in investment. Furthermore, inflation will return to target early next year for the first time since 2021, he said. Still, critics point to lengthy investment bottlenecks, as well as higher public debt and weaker economic growth compared with prior administrations, which have combined to damage Chile's reputation as an emerging market favourite. Election Year Chile's benchmark stock index rallied to a record this month, partly on expectations that elections later this year will usher in a more market-friendly administration. A Cadem poll published yesterday showed right-wing candidates Evelyn Matthei and Jose Antonio Kast leading voting intentions, followed by former Interior Minister Carolina Toha, who is the best-placed contender on the centre-left. Local election laws forbid President Gabriel Boric from running for a second consecutive term. In other news, the Treasury has already completed roughly 45% of its bond sale plans for this year, Marcel said. For the remaining sales, about 70% will be in the local market and 30% abroad, he added. 'Our idea is to move as quickly as possible to reduce uncertainty regarding developments in the financial markets that may occur later in the year,' said Marcel, a University of Cambridge-trained economist. US Talks Top priorities before Boric's term ends next March also include the consolidation of fiscal accounts and negotiations with the US government on trade and tariffs, he said. Marcel, who previously served as central bank governor and director of the government's budget office, said he will remain finance minister 'as long as the president needs me'. Chile's GDP expanded by 0.7% in the first quarter from the prior three-month period, more than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Activity was boosted by both private and government consumption, as well as exports. Still, that reading was for the period before US President Donald Trump slapped 10% tariffs on key Chilean shipments, including fruit and fish. As of now, the world's largest economy hasn't applied levies to copper, Chile's top export. — Bloomberg
Bloomberg
19-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Chile Poll Shows Evelyn Matthei and Jose Antonio Kast Tied in Race for Presidency
Chile ultra conservative candidate Jose Antonio Kast tied center-right contender Evelyn Matthei atop a new presidential poll, marking the latest twist in the race to lead one of Latin America's richest economies. Kast was backed by 17% of respondents, up from 14% the week prior and 13% at the start of May, according to a Cadem survey published late on Sunday. Matthei also garnered 17%, though her backing was down from 20% in the poll published on May 11 and 22% at the beginning of the month.
Bloomberg
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Chile Presidential Poll Shows Right-Wing Contenders Gaining Support
Chilean right-wing presidential contenders widened their lead ahead of November's election, while no hopeful from the ruling coalition garnered more than 5% support, according to a new poll. Center-right candidate Evelyn Matthei got 20% of support, up from 18% the week prior, a Cadem public opinion survey published late Sunday showed. Hard-right contenders Johannes Kaiser and Jose Antonio Kast got 15% and 14%, up from 13% and 11%, respectively.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chilean Center-Left Presidential Hopeful Carolina Toha Gains in Polls
(Bloomberg) -- Chilean center-left presidential hopeful Carolina Toha rose in two polls conducted immediately after her formal announcement last week that she'll compete in this year's election. NJ College to Merge With State School After Financial Stress Trump Administration Plans to Eliminate Dozens of Housing Offices Where New York City's Zoning Reform Will Add Housing Buffalo's Billion-Dollar Freeway Fix Is on Ice, But Not Because of Trump Inside the 'Not Architecture' of High Line Designers Diller Scofidio + Renfro Toha was backed for head of state by 12% of voters, up from 3% in February, according to a poll by Panel Ciudadano UDD. She trailed center-right candidate Evelyn Matthei, who garnered 25%, and hard-right contenders Johannes Kaiser and Jose Antonio Kast, who obtained 16% and 13%, respectively. Meanwhile, a separate survey by Cadem showed Toha with 10% of voter intentions, up from 3% in February. That poll showed Matthei leading with 18%, followed by Kaiser with 13% and Kast with 11%. Matthei would win a hypothetical run-off against all three, according to Cadem. Toha is a lifelong politician who served as interior minister until March 4, and she's viewed by many as the center-left's strongest candidate in the upcoming contest. Going forward, Toha will undoubtedly seek to lure supporters of former President Michelle Bachelet, a progressive who said last week that she won't seek a third term. Still, Toha has faced a backlash from Chileans who are concerned about crime and also worries about her appeal with voters. The first-round vote will be on Nov. 16 and a run-off, if needed, would take place on Dec. 14. Local laws forbid consecutive terms for any head of state, meaning current President Gabriel Boric won't be able to seek reelection. The Panel Ciudadano UDD poll surveyed 1,084 people March 5-6. It has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. The Cadem poll surveyed 702 people March 5-7. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. (Updates story with Cadem poll starting in third paragraph) An All-American Finance Empire Drew Billions—and a Regulator's Attention The Mysterious Billionaire Behind the World's Most Popular Vapes Greenland Voters Weigh Their Election's Most Important Issue: Trump Rich People Are Firing a Cash Cannon at the US Economy—But at What Cost? Snack Makers Are Removing Fake Colors From Processed Foods ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
