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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| The left tide has come to Chile |
| 2021-12-21 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. By Boris Rozhin [ColonelCassad] Another pink tide in South America continues. In the elections in Chile, the moderate left "socialist" defeated the right-wing candidate and Pinochet's supporters with a score of 56 to 44 percent. The victorious Gabriel Boric rose to prominence during massive protests against pension reform and student protests. He is only 35 years old. Among his promises are to reverse pension reform, introduce environmental taxes for large industry, and reform education and health care. Most of the Chilean socialists and the Chilean Communist Party supported Borich. The right has already admitted defeat. De facto, this is Chile's most leftist leader since the assassination of Allende, which clearly demonstrates the historical defeat of the Pinochet movement. Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Argentina have already congratulated Chile on the victory of the progressive forces. It is noteworthy that in socialist and communist circles Borich is considered "insufficiently socialist and anti-imperialist," while among Pinochet's admirers he is branded as a "left extremist." In my opinion, Borich is more of a social democrat and left-centrist. I believe that the real essence of Borich will become clear rather quickly when he, not in words, but in deeds shows himself in matters of pension reform, as well as other social transformations. If he screws up on these issues, his popularity will quickly fizzle out, as has happened more than once in South America with some left-wing leaders who could not deliver on their promises. If he can manage and still be able to bury neoliberalism in Chile, then he will be able to stake out a place for himself in history as the man who hammered the last nail into the lid of Pinochet's coffin. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #9 That wasn't so bad, possibly because I (honest Injun!) happened to see the desecrated statue scene from The Exorcist last night. Yeah, first time... is that all there is? |
| Posted by: Shusolet Panda3990 2021-12-21 20:10 |
| #8 <3 |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2021-12-21 18:14 |
| #7 Joining the Chavez Parade: (not for your eyes, TW) |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2021-12-21 10:24 |
| #6 My next-door neighbor (Bidet voter, on disability, union fanatic, veteran fixation although he never served) is talking about moving to Costa Rica when his wife retires. I said "Well, they're gonna love you down there if you refuse to speak Spanish." He's still butt-hurt. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2021-12-21 10:16 |
| #5 Welcome, Bad Luckâ„¢ |
| Posted by: Frank G 2021-12-21 10:13 |
| #4 The economy in Chile took a big hit in 2020 (like the rest of the world). It has recovered nicely in 2021 but the struggle to keep inflation under control has been unpopular at times. This undoubtedly led to the election of Boric. The pension system that Boric doesn't like is one in which workers must finance at least part of their own pension. Boric will probably want to raise the VAT and use some of that to finance the worker contribution. Since the revenue stream from the VAT rises with inflation this could work for a few years as long as the economy doesn't tank. |
| Posted by: Lord Garth 2021-12-21 09:40 |
| #3 My Mom had friends that retired to Chile about 20 years ago. They said that, at the time, it was like living in the 1950's and was a great place. Don't know if that still holds true. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2021-12-21 08:40 |
| #2 Quite a celebration. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2021-12-21 08:16 |
| #1 Excellent! It's about time we had another public demonstration of the destruction that socialism brings. |
| Posted by: Herb McCoy 2021-12-21 02:33 |
