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Volume 61 / Social Sciences

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS: CHILE


MICHAEL FLEET, Professor of Political Science, Marquette University


BETWEEN 1998–2001, observers, analysts, and protagonists of Chilean politics continued to debate the adequacy of Chile's restored democracy, and the propriety of the policies of its elected governments since the 1990 return to civilian rule. Voter turnout in the 1999–2000 presidential election, which saw the Concertación candidate, Socialist Ricardo Lagos, narrowly defeat the UDI's Joaquín Lavín, was substantially higher than in the 1997 legislative elections, but attitudinal polls and surveys continued to indicate low levels of public interest and/or confidence in the political process, and little sense that life would improve if ordinary citizens were to become more involved. Accordingly, the debate as to the causes and meaning of citizen disenchantment that had developed in previous years grew even more pointed, and now engulfed the Concertación itself. Assessments of the Aylwin and Frei Ruiz-Tagle governments, and of the direction to be taken in subsequent Concertación governments varied. Apologists insisted that while growth and stability had been preserved, important reforms had also been implemented, and future governments should offer more of the same "growth with equity" provided by previous administrations. Critics countered that not nearly enough had been done, that fears of provoking the military, challenging the political right, or alarming either foreign or domestic investors had prevented both Aylwin and Frei from aggressively pursuing initiatives and reforms that most Chilean citizens wanted and needed, and that unless future governments changed course the Concertación would lose both its popular support and its hold on power.

A number of distinct topics stand out in publications reviewed for HLAS 61. For example, the immediate impact and potential implications of Pinochet's detention in London in October, 1998, assured the former dictator continued prominence, if not conscious or purposeful protagonism, in the country's political life. The journalist Salinas focuses on Pinochet himself and the impact that he has had on Chilean politics over the last 30 years (item #bi2002003626#). The essays by Garreton (item #bi2004001320#), Hawthorn (item #bi 00002142#), Lagos and Muñoz (item #bi 99010074#), and Millaleo (item #bi 99010068#), on the other hand, deal with current proposals for how to handle Pinochet and his supporters now.

Not surprisingly, the largest number of books and articles focus on a wide range of issues related to national politics. Some works, such as FLACSO's review of the events of 1997 (item #bi2002003612#) and Epstein in the Brazilian journal Opinião Pública (item #bi2002004036#), offer general overviews and assessments. Martínez Keim deals with what he terms the country's "citizen deficit" (item #bi 00002277#), and Jouineau, an analyst with the French Ministry of Defense, argues that the current Chilean system does not satisfy the basic requirements for a "representative democracy" (item #bi2002005201#).

A large number of pieces focus on particular institutions (the presidency, the legislature, political parties, etc.), but refrain from passing judgment on the political process as a whole. Micco and Saffirio join the debate regarding presidential versus parliamentary forms of democracy by questioning the view that the former was largely responsible for the breakdown of Chilean democracy in 1973 (item #bi2002003616#). Valdivieso calls for the development of a new style of leadership (item #bi2002000772#), while Barrett (item #bi2001000973#) and Siavelis (item #bi2001003705#) analyze changes and continuity in the country's party system. Huneeus compares leadership and organizational features of Chilean political parties to patterns in Germany and Spain (item #bi2002005223#); attributes the crisis of Latin American political parties, legislatures, and governments to politicians themselves (item #bi 00002771#); and highlights organizational deficiencies, the lack of innovative and dynamic leadership, and the need for "programmatic renovation" in the case of Chile (item #bi 00002736#). Bickford and Noe examine mechanisms of participation beyond voting and party involvement (item #bi2002003614#), while Díaz is highly critical of the "ultra-presidential" system established by the 1980 Chilean Constitution, in which the president enjoys "extraordinary" powers, neither the judiciary nor the military are accountable, and the functions and prerogatives of the legislature are unduly limited (item #bi 00002799#).

Additionally noteworthy publications include Angell and Pollock on the 1999–2000 elections generally (item #bi2001005544#), Fontaine on rightist candidate Joaquin Lavín and the "new face" of the right (item #bi 00006953#), Morales and Bugueño on the Union Demócrata Independiente (UDI) (item #bi2002000777#), Ivan Ljubetic, a researcher with the Communist Party's Alejandro Lipschutz Institute, on the party's position in the 1999 presidential election (item #bi 00002830#), and an extraordinary account of a maximum security prison break by four members of the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (item #bi2002003948#). Fuentes covers civil-military relations in the 1990s (item #bi2001000977#); and finally, several authors address economic policies and strategies: Sapelli, for example, credits both the Aylwin government and Chile's strong presidential system with assuring the economic success of the early postmilitary period (item #bi2001003615#); Kurtz points to the socially and politically atomizing effects of economic liberalization in the Chilean countryside (item #bi 00002945#); and Gutiérrez and Rojas argue that Chilean governments need to develop additional productive capacity in new areas and sectors if overall economic progress is to continue and the benefits are to be distributed more evenly (item #bi 00002734#).

In the months preceding the election of Chile's third postmilitary president, the first round of which took place in December 1999, a highly visible contest for the Concertación nomination took place, with strenuous debate over the candidate and the need to break with the strategies and policies of the first two Concertación governments. One of the more influential of these essays, entitled "Lagos: el presidente camino �a qué?," was published in early 2000 as part of a collection of topical essays by historian/polemicist Alfredo Jocelyn-Holt (item #bi2004001321#). Jocelyn-Holt's framing of the dilemmas facing Lagos as he assumed the presidency summed up the debate to that point: i.e., the Concertación's crisis was either serious and its policies required fundamental revision, or simply involved the growing pains that accompany "modernization" and would soon diminish. This summary prompted responses in print and on the Internet, with a web site established to facilitate more ample and focused discussion (http://www.tiempo2000.cl/). Activists, militants, and academic sympathizers alike weighed in on the adequacy of the Concertación's performance and strategy, and future direction.

Philosopher Antonio Squella opened the debate in 1998 by arguing that the growth of the last 10 years has come at too high a political price (no meaningful reform), and that the country needs greater social and economic equality, and not just "equity" (item #bi2002003618#). Arguing along similar lines, US political scientist Patrick Barrett critiques the Aylwin government's cosmetic labor reforms (item #bi2001000464#), Socialist party deputy Camilo Escalona contends that civil society played no role in the current socioeconomic system and that inequality was actually growing even though poverty has declined (item #bi2002003603#), and Manuel Riesco views Concertación policies as the continuation of a modernization process that began with the reforms of the Frei Montalva and Allende governments, and in which workers have become ever more dependent on their employers(item #bi 00006650#). In varying but complementary ways, these authors build on the foundations established by Moulian (see HLAS 59:3782).

Not surprisingly, perhaps, these works have provoked responses from more pragmatic Concertación supporters like Eugenio Tironi (item #bi2002003608#), and from moderate critics like Briones (item #bi2002003617#). Portales, a Christian Democrat, responds by arguing that the increased inequality since 1990 will ultimately undermine both solidarity and stability (item #bi2002003621#). Huneeus counters by claiming that the Aylwin and Frei governments made important changes in the economic model inherited from Pinochet, and more could have been made were it not for rightist obstruction in the Senate (item #bi2001003706#). Although, for Jorge Rojas, the 1999 economic crisis underscored the limitations of the neoliberal model by placing most of its burdens (high unemployment and lower wages) on middle- and lower-income groups (item #bi 00001943#). And, finally, for those interested in the juxtaposition of opposing assessments of politics in the postmilitary period, the volume edited by Squella and Sunkel offers essays on philosophical, legal, sociological, and political aspects written by experts from across the ideological spectrum (item #bi2002003623#).

Overall trends and other key moments and issues in Chilean political history continue to be debated by both non-Chilean academics and a large number of Chilean political scientists, historians, observers, and social critics. Prominent among the contributions from non-Chileans in recent years are the second edition of Oppenheim's Politics in Chile (item #bi2002003602#), a third edition of Loveman's history (item #bi2002003601#), Chinese scholar Shu-Yun Ma's study of bureaucratic authoritarianism (item #bi2001000465#), Biglaiser's analysis of the military government's adoption of neoliberal economic policies (item #bi 00002947#), Barros' analysis of what he considers to be the significant constraints under which Pinochet exercised power (item #bi2002004039#), and Marcus Kurtz's study of the significant impact of state intervention and promotion in the country's supposedly "free-market miracle" (item #bi2002004462#).

Chileans revisiting key aspects of their own political history include Jocelyn-Holt, whose El Chile perplejo reviews and provocatively critiques Chilean politics from the late 1950s through the late 1990s (item #bi2001001614#); Anselmo Flores, who compares the Chilean and Spanish transitions to democracy (item #bi2001000393#); Nazer and Rosemblit, who look at the evolution of voting procedures and of the electorate itself since independence (item #bi2001004153#); Javier Pinedo, who examines conservative opposition to Pinochet's neoliberal reforms (item #bi2001002690#); Sergio Boisier, who looks critically at the military government's efforts to promote regional economic development (item #bi 00006616#); and Juan Carlos Gómez Leyton, who uses the 1970 presidential election to test Down's economic theory of democracy (item #bi 00003830#).

On a somewhat more openly partisan, normative, or ideological level are Aylwin's account of both the fall and restoration of Chilean democracy, in which his own role was central (item #bi2002003610#); an updated and revised synthesis of the Rettig Commission's Report (item #bi2004001323#); Dauno Tótoro's critique of the "new" Chilean military (item #bi2002003615#); Alfredo Rehren's sympathetic assessment of the effects of changes imposed under the military on its own role in politics, on the party system, and on the state's role in economic matters (item #bi2001003704#), Gladys Marín's examination of Operación Cóndor (item #bi2002003620#); a retrospective of the Popular Unity government by the Communist Party's Alejandro Lipschutz Institute (item #bi2002003606#); and a comparison of Presidents Alessandri, Frei, and Allende by a Renovación Nacional congressman (item #bi2002003604#).

A smaller number of studies dealing with religious and cultural matters also appeared during this period, including Blofield's analysis of the Catholic Church's success in preventing (until recently) the legalization of divorce and liberalization of laws relating to abortion (item #bi2002003605#), and Correa's comparison of these and other recent efforts with strategies and alliances pursued by the Church in earlier periods (item #bi2001000432#). Muñoz, on the other hand, contrasts the important political role of women prior to and under military rule with their reduced impact in the postmilitary period (item #bi 00002354#), the sociologist Cristián Parker has edited a collection of papers dealing with ethics, democracy, and human development (item #bi2002006253#); and, finally, Ricardo Israel has published a collection of thoughtful essays on the impact of science and technology on culture and development (item #bi2002003949#).

As in the past, this biennium offers a number of portraitures and biographies of Chilean political figures. Gen. Pinochet is again the focus of several works. Oyarzún's interviews, conducted between 1995–98, are notably deferential (item #bi2002003611#). Current President Ricardo Lagos is the focus of another thoughtful and revealing reflection from the journalist Patricia Politzer (item #bi2002003619#), and of an expanded MA thesis project that offers interesting details of both his academic and political backgrounds (item #bi2002003625#). Additional items include a portrait of the colorful Radical politician Raul Rettig (item #bi2002003624#), one of veteran Christian Democratic leader Gabriel ("the Silver Fox") Valdés (item #bi2002003622#), and one of Mario Palestro, a former mayor, and multiterm Socialist deputy from the comuna of San Miguel, on Santiago's south side (item #bi2002003609#).


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