Chile, the most successful society in South America, should think about amending their Constitution to read that anyone, ever, who goes by the moniker 'student leader' should be banned for life from holding political office;
On the back of emblematic faces from the student movement and a deal with Michelle Bachelet’s Neuva Mayoría pact, the Communist Party (PC) doubled its representation in Congress in recent elections and could prove a key player in the next government’s legislative agenda.
After November’s parliamentary election the CP’s presence in the Chamber of Deputies went from three to six, with deputy-elects Camila Vallejo, Karol Cariola and Daniel Núñez set to join PC President Guillermo Teillier, human rights lawyer Hugo Gutiérrez and Lautaro Carmona in the lower house. Together, they will comprise five points of the Nueva Mayoría’s 56.6 percent majority in the new-look Chamber of Deputies.
All three parliamentary newcomers are one-time student leaders and may prove crucial for the presidential front-runner to meet the quorums necessary to pass signature tax and education reforms and a new constitution.Trust us, they say, we don't mean what we say;
Leonardo Letelier, economist and academic at the Public Affairs Institute of Universidad de Chile, told The Santiago Times that the difference between Chilean communists and their counterparts around the world lies not in ideology, but in a willingness to negotiate with other parties and head to the ballot.
“The difference [between Chile’s Communist Party and that of Cuba or the former Soviet Union] is that the PC is more institutional,” Letelier said.
Fernando García Nadaff, professor of political science professor at Universidad Diego Portales, agreed, saying that under the administration of the democratically-elected Marxist President Salvador Allende, the PC proved more moderate than Allende’s Socialist Party (PS).
“The PC is not as radical as it portrays itself, nor as it is portrayed,” García said. “It is being depicted as more extreme and radical than it really is.”Sure, just like last time.
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