The Political Pendulum Swings Right in Chile

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Issue May 10-16 2023: On May 7, 2023, Chile’s far-right Partido Republicano, led by conservative lawyer José Antonio Kast (former candidate for president and an apologist for the regime of military dictator Augusto Pinochet), took 23 of 51 seats on the council that will draft a new constitution for Chile after last year’s reformed text was turned down by 62% of the voters in a referendum. Kast had been decisively defeated in the second round of the presidential election in 2021 by current President Gabriel Boric, while Chileans had also elected a majority left-leaning body to write a new constitution. Commentators and pundits worked overtime to explain what the dramatic shift means for Chile and for the region.

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