Chile between two extremes: Boric and Kast’s proposals under the magnifying glass

Chileans will choose tomorrow between two totally opposite directions for their country. The leftist Gabriel Boric and the ultraconservative Jose Antonio Kast they already played their last cards. Attempts at restraint and efforts to maximize the opponent’s weaknesses were the constant in the last stretch of the campaign. The question now is who will be able to mobilize more undecided and center voters, those called to define one of the most polarized, uncertain and transcendental elections since the return to democracy in the southern neighbor more than 30 years ago.

Even if closet He won the first round, the polls published before it was banned from broadcasting – since Saturday the 4th – gave the leftist candidate as a favorite by between 4 and 8 points. Despite this, analysts and some private polls point out that the distance between the two has shortened in recent days and that the result will be quite narrow, to the point that some studies record a technical tie.

LOOK: Boric vs. Kast: who won the last debate and how to triumph in the battle for the undecided in Chile?

In a country where voting is not compulsory and abstentionism is close to 50%, electoral participation will be crucial. “The important thing now for both candidates is to get their supporters to vote. Everything will depend on how many people go out to vote and who does it. If more young people come out, they will probably win Boric; If older people come out, maybe I’ll win closet. But I don’t think many people will be convinced at the last minute”, Chilean political scientist Patricio Navia tells El Comercio.

Paula Molina, a Chilean journalist for the television channel La Red and Radio Cooperativa, points out that this is a demanding electoral process for Chile and that it will be interesting to see how Chilean voters are going to mobilize, especially those in the center.

“This is an election with very different programs and candidacies, which point to projects and views of society that are quite different. In this scenario, what one could hope is that citizens feel called to go to vote and not stay on the sidelines of a decision of enormous importance, ”he emphasized to this newspaper.

These are some of the more substantial differences between the Boric and Kast country projects.

1. Economy: the battle to make a profound change in the model

Boric is the standard-bearer of the part of Chilean society that wants profound changes in its neighbor to the south, and the most drastic of them is in economic matters.

“From an economic perspective, the two projects are quite opposite. Boric’s project wants to create a bigger state, with more social protection and more taxes, that cares more about distribution than growth, while Kast’s program wants to worry more about growth than distribution, for which it wants lower taxes and reduce the size of the state”Says Navia.

In this sense, the expert affirms that, clearly, Boric’s project represents a major change for Chile, since Kast wants to maintain the neoliberal model inherited from the dictatorship and deepen it, while Boric wants to change the economic model quite drastically. that makes a sector of the population fear that growth is adversely affected.

(Trade)

2. Constituent: presidential support for the new Magna Carta

The Constituent Convention that began in July as a political route to respond to the social outbreak of 2019 and that is currently writing a new Magna Carta is mostly left-wing and has the support of Boric. Kast, on the other hand, has expressed deep doubts about the process and even voted against it.

“Kast is the emblematic candidate of the rejection of the Constituent Assembly and if he is president, this will probably lead to a conflict with the Convention and eventually with the exit plebiscite in which the citizens will decide whether or not to ratify the document.”Says Julieta Suárez-Cao, associate professor at the Institute of Political Science of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Paula Molina highlights that the Constituent process is a transcendental factor in this election, since the two candidates have very different views on that. “This is very relevant because the Chilean constitutional process is not an accessory issue in our conversations and probably not in our historical evolution. It is a key moment in which Chile is betting on an institutional solution for a very deep crisis situation. That is why what is at stake is very important in the country”.

A supporter of Chilean presidential candidate Gabriel Boric holds up a doll with his image during his campaign closing rally in Santiago, Chile. (Photo: REUTERS / Rodrigo Garrido). (RODRIGO GARRIDO /)

3. Security: between a strong hand and a police reform

The one who has had the strongest speech on security has been Kast. The right-wing candidate defends a plan for order and peace and has even spoken of allowing people to be detained in places other than prisons during a state of emergency and with extreme disorders.

Navia highlights that Kast has a much more discourse in defense of law and order, of strengthening the police, while Boric is committed to dialogue with the communities and to reforming the police to ensure that they privilege the protection of rights human beings over the concern for law and order, although it highlights that in the second round the two have taken slightly more moderate positions.

4. Migration: the proposal for a ditch on the border

Although he moderated several of his initial positions, Kast maintains his proposal to build a ditch on the northern border to prevent the passage of irregular migrants and to tighten border controls with drones and a military contingent.

On the other hand, Boric affirms that there are other mechanisms to face the problem. He has promised a “regular, orderly and safe” immigration policy.

“Migrants must be treated from a human rights perspective”, He affirmed during the campaign.

“We have a candidate who argues that the solution to the problems of security, migration and the conflict with the Mapuche people is hand in hand with militarization and another who believes that other types of solutions must be generated based on greater international cooperation and the dialogue”, Suárez-Cao points out.

Presidential candidate José Antonio Kast holds his closing rally before the second round of the presidential elections in Santiago, on Thursday, December 16, 2021. (AP Photo / Esteban Felix).

In Chile there are almost 1.7 million immigrants and according to the UN International Organization of Migrants it is the second country with the highest percentage of immigrants in the region. So far this year more than 25,000 people have arrived in the southern country through the Atacama desert, according to official figures. A significant increase compared to the 16,500 for all of 2020.

5. Environment: priority or change of discourse

Regarding the environment, Boric has maintained its proposals to face the climate crisis, among which it considers water management and water scarcity.

“We must fulfill our international climate commitments and be more ambitious in their formulation, strengthening our medium and long-term mitigation goals to advance the goal of being a carbon neutral country.”Says the leftist’s program.

Kast changed his speech on the subject in the final stretch of the campaign and now his plan recognizes human action as responsible for this problem and proposes measures in this regard. He has also assured that he will give “an epic battle against desertification and climate change”.

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