Chilean President Gabriel Boric celebrates one year at the head of the Chilean government on March 11, with a severe setback in Congress after the rejection of his tax reform, but consolidating a rebound in the polls.
This Saturday, March 11, marks the first year of Gabriel Boric at the head of Chile. Experts assure that it is a government that has been consolidating after the difficult start, coming out of the health crisis caused by Covid-19 and the social outbreak of 2019 and its aftermath.
The Chilean president prioritized citizen security issues, immigration management, as well as economic growth. According to the latest polls, his management approval is close to 39%.
“Progressive Support”
“Ha had opposition criticism in he Parliament, but not ha had a opposition social as had he government of Sebastian Pinera of right, in sense of a disorganization social and of the population criticism of the government, coming out to the street… That No ha past, has been a year quite don’t worry socially”, explains to RFI the economistAndrés Solimano, president of the International Center for Globalization and Development (CIGLOB), in Santiago, Chile.
“I think that reflects what is a government of centre-left, that ha fiance transformations, so the population you ha given TRUE support progressive, with a diary of changes limited by the reality chilena”, stresses the economist, adding that the fires in January and February also contributed to increasing its popularity.
Rejection of the tax reform
This first year has been marked by the rejection of a new Constitution to replace the one inherited from the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, a project to which the government had committed itself, and more recently, by the rejection of a tax reform by the Chamber of Deputies that sought to finance his ambitious plan of social reforms.
“This reform had several headings. You I was going to increase taxes to the income, also strengthened the attribution of the service of rent and of taxes internal in Chili. With the resources That were going to raise, it was going to be financed the Pension guaranteed Universal, that is a species of pension basic that, financed with resources of the State, would benefit to the people of minor rent and rent half. Also HE included a tax to the heritage of the wealthier families. So the package had a content redistributive, but that was rejected”, details Solimano.
According to the economist, the reasons for rejection “may be from obstructionism parliamentary until defending of interests of the people of high rent that have influence in the action legislative of Chili”.
“When the country begins to show signs of recovery, when we begin to get ahead of a long crisis, once again there is a sector that tries to make sure that things do not change, to leave things as they are,” the president lashed out on Wednesday night. .
Many analysts point out that Boric has consented to some decisions of Congress, although he has opposed them at the time as a deputy, such as the ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a trade agreement between 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
