On October 26th and 27th elections took place in Chile for regional governors and Cores (Deputies) for the regional governments and mayors and councilors for the municipal governments.
The elections were held in the middle of a series of corruption scandals in different municipalities throughout the country. Other corruption cases at the national level involved the former government headed by Sebastian Piñera and his Minister of the Interior Andrés Chadwick. This is known as the Hermosilla case – due to the name of the Attorney Luis Hermosilla, who worked for the Piñera government. Although many now try to deny it, the case is also known as the audio case. This is because after they all left office, WhatsApp audios were found belonging to the lawyer Hermosilla and businessmen discussing how to coordinate to help the fast track some projects. They also had audio recordings with the head of police investigations who informed them of investigations that were of interest to some of the businessmen.
However, the most serious issue was the discovery of audios that gave an account of malicious interventions, naming judges, related to Chadwick’s interests. The police chief was discharged and until now one of the Supreme Court judges mentioned in the audios has been dismissed. The case affects many political parties. It includes some parties that are part of the current government. The cases involve corruption in public entities. The case of the University of San Sebastian (a private university) revealed that right- wing figures were paid millionaires salaries to be employed by the university, but they did not take any classes.
Another issue which featured in the election campaign was the migration crisis and the involvement of key figures making security issues public and being involved in organised crime.
Finally, we have the Monsalve case, which has to do with the accusation of rape against the former Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, in the current government. This involves an Interior Ministry official who accuses Monsalve of sexual abuse. This case has resulted in a massive collapse in support for the government. Many people think the right wing and big business-controlled media featured this case to divert attention away from the Hermosilla Case and to try and profit from it, as Monsalve was a member of the government facing elections.
Both the Hermosilla case and the Monsalve case are extremely serious and must be prosecuted. The government highlighted the rights of women a great deal when it was elected but now one its ministers is facing rape charges. All the cases demonstrate the decomposition of Chile’s state institutions.
This was the atmosphere in the run up to the local elections. People feel absolutely disgusted with all the institutions – the parliament, the judiciary, and the entire political class.
Entering discussion about the elections, it was heard many times that “elections are not won, they are explained”. Today we see that all the political parties but mainly from the government and the right-wing opposition declare themselves ” winners ” of the latest elections.
But by analyzing the votes it is clear the true ‘winners’ were spoilt and blank ballots. The percentage of void and blank votes is greater than received by the parties that obtained the best electoral results.
The Chilean media outlets highlighted the high percentage of people who went to vote – 85% of the voters. What they did not say was that many people went to vote because they were frightened of the possibility of getting a fine as voting is compulsory. In other words, the voting figures do not account for the compulsory nature of the vote and the disgust and revulsion felt by millions of Chileans towards the main political parties and establishment.
This is proven in the high number of void and blank votes. In the election for mayors that figure reached 10.72%. In elections for councillors, it reached 21.46 %. The party that performed the best was the right-wing Renovacvion Nacional (RN) which along with Independents won 15.52% of the vote. Yet this was way behind the percentage of the void and blank votes – highest since the 1996 elections. In 2024, five million voters did not vote for any candidate, from an electoral roll of fifteen million.
This demonstrate the unstable political and social period Chile is in and alienation of millions from the “representative democracy” – a system that the bourgeoisie, the elite, has control of. It became clear that the spoilt and blank voting replaced the electoral abstention that we saw when voting was voluntary and not compulsory in Chile.
Election of Matías Toledo
It is important and necessary to highlight what happened in the elections. The election of Matías Toledo in the commune of Puente Alto was significant. He made a strong class-based speech about the struggle that millions of Chileans participated in during October 2019. The election of Matías Toledo in Puente Alto should be an example of what should be done in other working-class communities.
As the CWI-CIT, we put forward two candidates for the elections in the metropolitan Santiago region. Comrade Hugo got 11,567 votes and Comrade Celso obtained 9,539 votes. Between the two candidates we achieved 21,106 votes: not an inconsiderable number of votes, for a small Marxist force in Chile. Our speeches and propaganda highlighted the conditions of workers and the general populations, and we defended socialist ideas as the only alternative to change the current situation of the injustices of capitalism. This was not an easy task given that much of the electorate does not believe in the words and deeds of politicians and they can see no real difference between them. For many of the people, all the politicians and parties are the same. This is now the view of a large sector of the population of this country.
Last October marked five years since the popular rebellion of October 18, 2019. Every year, upon arrival of this date, we commemorate the social uprising. With it arises the need to make an analysis of the current situation. By reviewing the panorama, we face a reality that is hard to deny: little has changed for the benefit of the workers and their families. In fact, the people ‘s standard of living goes on getting worse. Five years after the social unrest, abuse and corruption continue to govern the country.
It is necessary and essential to raise a class alternative; to reclaim the demands of the millions of workers who took to the streets in October 2019. The demand to end the AFP pension system continues to be immensely popular. To put an end to a free-market health and education system, and to end the CAE private education system. The need to deliver solutions worthy of the needs of the working class. To take power out of the clutches of the banks and big companies and put it in the hands of the working class with a programme to fulfill the basic needs of our class.
Today it is clearer than ever that it is necessary to raise the flags of the struggle for a socialist society that puts an end to the current system of injustices.
