Chile’s next president
Boric’s generational change and the reconstruction of a long suffered country
As 2021 ended, Latin America saw one more step towards the political left, and that’s good news for the region
First Alberto Fernandes’ victory against Macri, the president running for re-election on a pro-business agenda. Although the rich world always advises middle-income nations against a more social agenda, Argentina’s economy has never improved much under neoliberal pro-business policies. The reason for it, if one can simplify a very complex scenario, is that, although in the middle-income spectrum as a country, Argentina’s population reason as a developed European country, much like Italy or Spain. That pushes them to fight any policy that produces restrains in the well-fare state.
Then, in 2020, Bolivia elected Luis Arce, former finance minister of Evo Morales. Bolivia’s situation is much more precarious. It is a much poorer country; it is landlocked. It has a deep inequality between popular segments and country regions. Until Arce’s election, Bolivia was facing both a political crisis and an outlaw government. In October 2019, Evo Morales, the president seeking a third term (his right to do so is legally debatable), was about to win the election when a power-glitch triggered fraud claims, rendering the election…