Skip to content
June 27, 2022
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

From Venezuela and made by Venezuelan Chavistas

Primary Menu
  • News
  • Opinion
  • About us
    • About us
    • Who we are – Becoming a Volunteer
    • Editorial guidelines for contributors
    • Our Sources
      • Venezuelan Sources
      • International Sources
    • Contact us
  • Categories
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Security and Defense
    • International
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Europe
      • Oceania
      • US/Canada
    • Latin America and ALBA-TCP
      • South America
      • Central America and the Caribbean (+Mexico)
    • Ideology-Commune-Labor
    • Health-Education-Sport-Culture-Technology
    • Solidarity and Social Movements
    • OT Originals
  • Support Us
    • Tax Deductible Donations: AfGJ Fiscal Sponsorship Program
    • Patreon (recurrent donations)
    • PayPal and Credit Cards
Light/Dark Button
YouTube Channel
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • Time for the New Chilean Left
  • Latin America and ALBA-TCP
  • Opinion
  • South America

Time for the New Chilean Left

October 31, 2020

By Emir Sader – Oct 26 2020

Once the coup in 1973 was finalized, the opposition parties that had collaborated with the coup went to Pinochet, believing that he would support them.  Pinochet was inflexible and told them that this generation would not ever again see elections in Chile and that the electoral registers had just been burnt.  To try to formalize this viewpoint, in 1980 the dictatorship imposed a new constitution in Chile, then fully in a state of siege.

This constitution was reformed several times – 33 times – but it remained in force, particularly in the neoliberal structure linked to privatizations, consistent with maintaining the neoliberal model even after the end of the dictatorship.  It is this constitution that is now coming to an end, according to the majority decision of the Chilean people in the referendum called after a year of the largest people’s mobilizations that Chile has ever seen.

These huge demonstrations began in October 2019.  In November a document was signed proposing that a Constituent Assembly be called together, a process in which the Frente Amplia Party, a principal force in the new left, played a main role.  The new left is characterized by criticism of the conservative nature of the transition from dictatorship to democracy, which has been  marked by the heritage of the Pinochet regime, by the remaining characteristics of the constitution, and by the support of the Convergence – an alliance between the Socialist Party and the Christian Democrats – of the neoliberal economic model.

RELATED CONTENT: Chile: Now the Transition Begins

This proposal encountered resistance, not only from the right, but also from social  movements, as long as the Frente Amplio –  a group of various leftist organizations –  had a fundamental role in the initiative.  The Frente Amplio is headed by the journalist Beatriz Sanchez, who was a candidate for the presidency of Chile in the election of 2017, and who got more than 20% of the vote, almost getting to the second round of the elections.  She thus appeared to be the main leader of the Chilean left.

Beatriz Sanchez was leading the polls, along with Daniel Jadue, the Communist mayor of Recoleta, before the referendum.  She had visited him on the eve of the referendum at the Communist Party headquarters in order to reaffirm the unity between them.  The choice will be between the two of them in a primary, to face Joaquín Lavin, the traditional chief of the right and mayor of Las Condes – rich areas of Santiago – who clearly appears as the conservative alternative, in the election of November 2021.

RELATED CONTENT: Chile: One Year Later, the Revolt Against Piñera Remains Massive (Interview)

The Frente Amplio thus emerges from the referendum with a broad area in which to consolidate its forces, especially through the calling together of an exclusively Constituent Assembly, elected in April by popular vote.  This represents the concrete possibility of a radical renewal of the political life of Chile, with the election of a new generation of political representatives; this is even more true since half of the Assembly will be women – an occurrence unique in the world.

The referendum changes much of the Chilean political scene, augmenting the crisis of the traditional parties, those of the right as well as those of the Convergence, and opening spaces for a radical renovation.  The democratization of the political system causes Chile to enter a period extremely favorable to the new left.

A mobilization that began with demands against increases in the metro fares has extended to other demands concerning salaries and employment, until finally it culminated in the proposed policy of the Constituent Assembly, a proposal made some time ago by the new left in the midst of the largest people’s mobilizations and demonstrations that Chile has ever experienced, and which have extended throughout the country.  This new Assembly will draft a new constitution during the course of one year, in the setting of the continuance of these mobilizations and also with a presidential election during this same year.  A new Chile will emerge at the end of this process, in which the new left has achieved the fundamental possibility of making the proposals that they have for Chile a reality.

 

(Resumen Latinoamericano-English)

Want More?

Don't want to be a victim of the Algorithm?

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER WITH ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VENEZUELA

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Emir Sader
+ posts

Emir Simão Sader is a Brazilian sociologist and political scientist of Lebanese origin. He received all his higher education credentials from the University of São Paulo. He did his bachelor’s degree in philosophy, his master’s degree in political philosophy and his doctoral degree in political science.

  • Emir Sader
    #molongui-disabled-link
    The Brazilian Mess
  • Emir Sader
    #molongui-disabled-link
    Bolivia Proves that Breakdowns in Democracy are Coups
  • Emir Sader
    #molongui-disabled-link
    Bolsonaro Loses his Twin Towers
  • Emir Sader
    #molongui-disabled-link
    What is Bolsonaro Without Trump?
Tags: Augusto Pinochet Chile Joaquín Lavín neoliberal New Chilean Left The Frente Amplio

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Continue Reading

Previous Previous post:

How Venezuela has Held Back COVID-19 in Spite of the US Sanctions Stranglehold on its Economy

Next Next post:

US Media Lie About Bolivia’s Movement Toward Socialism—Before, During and After Election

Tax deductible donations

One time donations

Recurrent donations

Calendar

June 2022
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  
« May    

NEWS: Most Viewed 72 Hours

Categories

Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter

We keep your data private and share your data only with third parties that make this service possible. Read our Privacy Policy.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

OPINION: Most Viewed 72 hours

We are on Telegram


Receive our news directly in your cellphone or PC, join us on our TELEGRAM channel: https://t.me/OrinocoTribune1

Download TELEGRAM, click the link above and then press the JOIN button.

We are Copyleft not Copyright


Creative Commons License
All Orinoco Tribune's work is free to use and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

We are on Reddit


If you are more into REDDIT, join our Orinoco Tribune Community.
Just click below and then click JOIN
https://www.reddit.com/r/OrinocoTribune/

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
Copyleft, No rights reserved.

Orinoco Tribune needs your help  

This week we have to pay our monthly hostings fees but we are out of funds

If for some reason you see us down this week, that is the reason. 

We will try to resume payments as soon as we can!

Orinoco Tribune needs more support!

3 options below: