Chilean Politics

Here is an interesting column by Andres Oppenheimer about the new Chilean cabinet, which will take office in a few weeks. It may be the most “globalized” cabinet in Latin America, since many have lived extensively abroad (often as political exiles during the Pinochet dictatorship), even receiving advanced degrees, and about 70 percent speak English. This will have positive effects, since Chile has been active in negotiating trade agreements (including, but not limited to, the U.S.), participating in UN operations (most notably in Haiti) and generally is seen as the economic leader in the region, so a savvy cabinet is a big plus. The major question, however, is whether this creates a disconnect with the population. Certainly, Chilean economic growth is impressive, but inequalities and poverty are persistent, and the president and her cabinet will need to show they are committed to domestic issues.

I think this should also serve to put to rest the terribly oversimplified and widespread notion that Latin America is “tilting leftward.” In some cases, like Venezuela, that is more clear, but the diversity of so-called “leftists” is considerable. It is very hard to say that President-elect Bachelet should be in the same category as Evo Morales, and that either one resembles Kirchner in Argentina. It is tempting to label Bachelet, because she is from the Socialist Party, but she has assembled a pro-free market cabinet that will likely work very well with the United States.