Why is the popularity of Chilean President Gabriel Boric plummeting?

The Chilean President Gabriel Boric He won a landslide victory in the December elections and took office in March amid a wave of optimism and approval for his cabinet with a majority of women, plans for social reform and a moderate economic agenda.

But since then it’s been hardwith persistent problems in the south of the country, rising inflation linked in part to world food and fuel prices and several missteps by his ministers, a cocktail that has hit the 36-year-old progressive leader hard in the polls .

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The former student leader now seeks to regain ground and push a political agenda that includes a tax reform to finance more social spending and a stricter environmental regulation that raises alarms in the powerful mining sector.

A poll released on Sunday showed that support for the president fell to 34%.the lowest level since he took office, along the same lines as support for the proposed new Constitution.

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”It has been three months of great intensity, of great learning, taking charge of our own self-criticism and how to improve our teamwork”, said Camila Vallejo, minister of the General Secretariat of Government and spokesperson for the administration of borik.

“In fact, the first difficult moment was the first week,” he added, mentioning how Interior Minister Izkia Siches’ visit to the troubled La Araucanía region was interrupted by gunfire.

How Boric fare is key for Chile and a barometer for leftist governments in the region and his ability to win over voters angered by high gas and food prices, a cooling economy and the residual impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Chile, Boric marks a break with the politicians who preceded him in the presidential chair and it remains a beacon of hope for its supporters, tired of inequality in one of the richest nations in the region where there were major social protests at the end of 2019.

During his campaign, Boric promised to end the free market-oriented economic modelalthough he moderated his speech by appointing former central bank president Mario Marcel as finance minister, a signal that calmed investors in the world’s largest copper producer.

When the party’s over

But while its environmental agenda and focus on inclusion have earned it praise, analysts say most voters are more concerned with everyday matters.

”People also want to make ends meetbuy a car, have the certainty that their children will have a prosperous life”, said Cristóbal Bellolio, a political analyst.

The conflict with indigenous groups in the south, where there are frequent arson attacks against property, machinery and vehicles, has also tested the more conciliatory position of borikwhose sector harshly criticized the government of Sebastián Piñera for resorting to the military to deal with the conflict.

And although during the campaign he assured that his government would not resort to a state of emergency in the southern provinces, in the end it did.

”Once it’s your turn to exercise power, you realize that the carrot is not enoughBelloli said. “Once the ‘Boricmanía’ is over, that the ‘challa’ (confetti) of the party is swept away and we return to business as usual, it was logical that all these public order issues were going to be a headache for the Government”.

Giorgio Jackson, minister and confidant of boriktold Reuters earlier this month that the greatest victories of the government in the first 100 days had been to increase the minimum wage and that the next big leap would be tax reform, including the mining royalty.

The young president will also face a key referendum in September on the new constitution, which is intended to replace the current text that catapulted former dictator Augusto Pinochet’s neoliberal economic policies.

Although this process began before borik arrives in La Moneda and is separated from the Government, the president is betting on his success since he supports many of the same ideas that he is trying to promote on social rights and the environment, among other aspects.

Vallejo said that the Government is focused on promoting a fair and transparent plebiscite and advancing its agenda regardless of the result, although he added that the current Constitution limits the reforms they want to promote.

“We are going to push with the same conviction that we had when we took power”Vallejo said. “Chili has worked very seriously on this and if we can contribute to showing that it is possible to make profound changes, for the rest of the world, happy to be able to do it”.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.