At 100 Days, Chilean
President Hard to Pin Down Politically
By Daniela Estrada
SANTIAGO (IPS) - He describes
himself as centre-right, but several of
his policies have been classified as
"progressive". As he completes his first
100 days in office, telegenic Chilean
President Sebastián Piñera is surprising
both allies and opponents, while social
organisations are keeping a careful
watch.
"Clearly Piñera is right-wing, but he
does not represent the classical right,"
Víctor Hugo de la Fuente, editor in
chief of the Chilean edition of Le Monde
Diplomatique, told IPS. "While he
basically follows the neoliberal model,
he has sought to distance himself from
the right with some of his policies, and
especially his different style."
In fact the June issue of this French
publication in Chile is devoted to
analysing Piñera's "neo-populism", as
the president completes 100 days in
power on Saturday Jun. 19.
In de la Fuente's view, the president is
far from being a "traditional populist",
but both his "personal style",
media-savvy and distanced from political
parties, and his "surprise moves" that
astonish partisans and opponents alike,
can be regarded as a new form of
populism.
For instance, on Tuesday Jun. 15 Piñera
and his wife, Cecilia Morel, spent the
night at an emergency shelter in Dichato,
in the central region of Bío Bío, and
watched the Chilean football team's
first match in the World Cup the next
day with families left homeless by the
devastating Feb. 27 earthquake.
The billionaire businessman took office
Mar. 11, after two decades of government
by the centre-left Coalition (Concertación)
of Parties for Democracy, made up of the
Socialist Party, Party for Democracy,
Christian Democracy Party and Social
Democratic Radical Party.
A member of the conservative liberal
National Renewal party, Piñera became
president with the support of the
Coalition for Change, which also
includes the far-right Independent
Democratic Union (UDI), several of whose
members participated in the 1973-1990
dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet
(1915-2006).
From the very start of his involvement
in politics, Piñera had a "style of his
own," de la Fuente said. For example,
Piñera claims to have voted against
Pinochet continuing in power, in the
1988 plebiscite, the analyst said.
Once in office, Piñera showed the full
extent of his pragmatism when he
proposed tax hikes for businesses to
finance the reconstruction of the
country after the February 8.8-magnitude
quake and the subsequent tsunami, which
earned him criticism from his allies.
Politicians and analysts said at the
time that his administration "was like a
fifth Concertación government," and even
bolder than its centre-left
predecessors.
In a May 21 presidential address, Piñera
said he would work to eradicate extreme
poverty, which affects 3.2 percent of
the population, by 2014, and poverty,
which affects 13.7 percent of the
population, by 2018. This would be done
mainly through an "ethical family
income" programme that would transfer an
average of 470 dollars a month to
vulnerable households, he said.
To strengthen democracy, he also
confirmed his support for bills the
Concertación has tried but failed to
push through Congress, such as automatic
voter registration on electoral rolls,
voluntary voting -- at present voting is
compulsory, with stiff fines for
defaulters -- and voting rights for
Chileans living abroad.
On Jun. 15, Piñera announced the
drafting of a bill to regulate property
rights for heterosexual or homosexual
couples who are unmarried but living
together, in a direct challenge to the
UDI's opposition to such a measure.
"There is no doubt that, whether as a
strategy or out of conviction, President
Piñera has tried to distance himself
from the more orthodox right and has
taken on board many of the social
policies of the Concertación, even
showing a willingness to take them
further," José Aylwin, co-director of
the non-governmental Citizens'
Observatory, told IPS.
But he warned that Piñera "has not given
up the strategy of pursuing economic
growth based on the production and
export of natural resources."
This economic policy has "profound
implications for the environment and
human rights, and major social costs,
which is why national and international
organisations have called for it to be
reformed," Aylwin said.
Claudio Fuentes, head of the Institute
of Social Sciences at the private Diego
Portales University, said the president
exhibits some populist tendencies,
because "he is seeking to engage
directly with society, and he makes
promises he can't always keep."
Nevertheless, "in comparative terms he
cannot be said to be a populist leader,"
he added.
For example, his pledge to streamline
the public administration overlooks the
fact that state bodies are not
necessarily capable of implementing an
"efficiency agenda," Fuentes said.
Besides, any surges of populism will be
damped down by his need to reach
agreements with the opposition, since he
has no parliamentary majority of his
own, he said.
"Piñera borrows some political
characteristics from French President
(Nicolas) Sarkozy, like the idea of not
just backing the agenda of the classical
right, but also taking up causes of the
political centre, in the shape of tax
reform or inviting members of the
opposition to join his government," the
political scientist said.
The Chilean president has also taken
inspiration from the style of outgoing
Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, a
right-winger, in terms of staying in
close contact with the people and
emphasising public security, he said.
"His ability to micro-manage helps him
clear up all sorts of problems. He makes
his own way, thinking on his feet,
taking the opportunities that arise and
discarding or leaving out anything that
gets in the way," wrote political
analyst Santiago Escobar in the column
"La colcha de retazos del Presidente
Piñera" (President Piñera's Patchwork
Quilt) published in the El Mostrador
on-line newspaper.
Escobar writes, for instance, that
Piñera "without blushing, has
transgressed all the limits of
legitimacy in terms of conflicts of
interest," because he still has not sold
his television channel, Chilevisión.
"One of the dangers" of Piñera's style
is that it might "disguise the real
nature of his actions, which are clearly
right-wing," de la Fuente said.
But he said it was positive for Piñera
"to promise and sometimes implement some
'more progressive' measures," for the
good of the country, and so that
citizens can demand that he deliver on
his promises.
Chileans seem to be reacting positively
to Piñera's style, because his approval
rating in May was 53 percent, the
highest level since he took office in
March. |
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