Rightwing Millionaire ends 20 years of moderate socialism in Chile

     Havard University graduate Sebastián Piñera got into business in a big way under the military dictatorship of Agosto Pinochet. Now, with a fortune of well over $1.2 billion dollars, he has become the 48th president of Chile. During the hard  fought presidential campaign with Eduardo Frei--the candidate of the center-left coalition, in control of the country for the past 20 years-- Piñera seduced voters with promises including the creation of a million new jobs, the payment of an $80 bond to the impoverished, slashing taxes and the injection of "efficiency" in government. He also promised to end attempts to bring to justice persons accused of gross rights violations under the dictatorship, saying also that having worked for the dictatorship should not be considered a "crime."

    The new president is not just a conservative with "progressive" make-up: he is one of the richest men in the country and a member of the exclusive Latin American millionaire club. Piñera certainly has a nose for business. Although presidents are supposed to divest themselves of private enterprizes that could signify a conflict of interest, he continues to own the country’s most popular soccer club, Colo Colo, a major TV station, Chilevisión and LAN Chile, all of whose stocks shot ahead with his victory. By law he will have to separate himself from his businesses before being sworn in...but in the meantime, money makes money.

    Piñera’s victory without a doubt has caused conservative opponents of center-left governments around Latin America to cheer. His triumph is also undoubtedly being celebrated in the U.S. Both Republicans and Democrats have long shown their preference for business friendly governments in the region. With President Barack Obama increasingly pressed by conservatives at home and abroad, the Republicans will clearly clap hard at each advance of conservative opponests of progressive or "populist" governments in countries such as Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela.

    During the 1970’s and in the context of the "Cold War," military coups and repressive regimes took power throughout most of the continent with the wink of Washington and the most conservative economic interests. With the emergence under the Bush Adminisstration of the "War against terrorism," Latin American fell into the background on the list of Washington's sstrategic objectives. That allowed democratic and center leftist forces to push out the right in many of the area's countries. Now there are clear signs that the right is battling for a come back, this time dressed in "democratic" trapppings.

    The problem of the rightwing, however, is that if they don't get to power by force (military coups) they need to win over the votes of the poor and the down trodden middle classes. Can the classic notion of free enterprize economics solve the problem of extreme poverty and outlandish inequality? Will Piñera be able to solve Chile's lop-sided distribution of wealth with the kind of free market economics learned at Havard? Or the kinds of tactics which enabled him to accumulate wealth? To entice the poor he promised to pay two million Chileans a one time bonus of $80, enchanted the middle class with a pledge to put a thousand policemen on the streets to deal with violence, and made everyone happy by talking about tax reductions...

    There will also be "privitizations" of government help enterprizes, probably starting with CODELCO, the nationalized copper mining industry, the world's major copper producer and a key factor in the Country's relatively sucessful economic status...

    Chile is one of the continent’s most economically unequal countries. The center left governments managed to reduce poverty from %38 under Pinochet to around 13% now, a considerable achievement, yet the country’s relative economic success has been based on exports--especially copper--activities which do not provide vast employment.

    Piñera, who has 106,447 fans in Facebook, has an excellent opportunity to "change" the country: he will have to name some 1,300 government collaborators...and then the eventual naming of the Defense minister, military authorities, judges...will certainly provide a stepping stone for the return to the right. In view of his electoral promises, and certain progressive gestures (such as non opposition to gay marriages), it is not likely that the new government will take a sudden turn or return to the right. It will probably attempt to work "pragmatically" to win over the more conservative voices of the ex center left and put a brake to the more stoutly Pinochet supporters.

    The election was carried out in an openly democratic fashion, according to most reports, with winners and losers greeting each other. The leftist or progressive forces will certainly begin to meditate concerning the causes for their defeat: no doubt in part due to a not very convincing candidate but also to the fairlure to bring about an essential change in the country’s economic and social structure.