Gabriel Boric: Chile’s First Swiftie President & The Floundering Second Pink Tide
Foreword
At the Helm is a column exploring leaders of the world and the movements they inspire or find themselves a part of. Each installment takes on a new figure who might not necessarily be a household name to the average reader, but could be worth their time nevertheless to learn about. By telling their stories, broader geopolitical trends tend to reveal themselves whose patterns are explored in each article. I’m always looking for new, interesting world leaders to feature in a future article so feel free to reach out (25stu485@lexingtonma.org) with any ideas or feedback on the column you may have. I hope you enjoy reading this issue’s piece on Gabriel Boric and the nature of South American political shifts over time. I loved putting it together!
~ Sebastian
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“I feel #Swiftie”
Gabriel Boric Font was born in Punta Arenas, the capital of Chile’s southernmost province of Magallanes, in 1986. His political career grew out of his notoriety as the president of the student council at the University of Chile, where he was pursuing a degree in law. In 2011, his position propelled him to the front of early demonstrations that would mark the beginning of the 2011-2013 Student Protests in Chile, demanding an end to excessive profiting in Chilean higher education, and radical changes to other parts of the educational bureaucracy, such as student debt. Then, using his platform as a student leader, he would go on to be elected as a member of the Chamber of Deputies (a Chilean equivalent to the American House of Representatives) first in 2014, and then again in 2018. (In)famous for his laidback style, his apparent disinterest in combing his hair - even for official portraits as pictured here - conjures memories of a certain passé British politician. His jeans and lack of tie have been historically criticized by political opponents for being too casual. And, it's true - Boric is a self-proclaimed Swiftie. Not only has he been photographed wearing Swift’s Folklore cardigan, and tweeted that he “Feels #Swiftie,” he was known to physically carry a photo of her in his pocket while campaigning.
In 2021, with Chile’s leftist bloc losing presidential candidates to elections for the country’s constitutional convention, and most popular candidates not being old enough to run, 35 year old Boric was thrust in as a candidate at the last minute - meeting the filing requirements just one day before the deadline. However, despite early hurdles, he - to the surprise of many - won the primary election, shocking even party leadership. In the last two months of 2021 he won the first round, and subsequent runoff of the general election, and was inaugurated on March 11th, 2022.
Big Dreams, Little Success
In many ways, Boric's presidency has been and continues to be defined by Chile's struggle with its constitution. Established in 1980 under the direction of the far-right military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Chile's current constitution seems to be in broad disfavor among the populace, with 78% voting in support of a new constitution in 2021. Just four months ago, the product of that referendum - a new draft constitution - was revealed. The constitution would make Chile a plurinational state, recognize and give more rights to indigenous Chileans, codify gender parity in pay, reinvent the country’s public healthcare system, and more. The constitution would have made Chile, according to some, the country with the most progressive constitution in the world. However, this was not to be. In a stunning rebuke of Boric’s leftist vision, the constitution was overwhelmingly rejected. The referendum was surprising not because of its result, but in the sheer numbers with which it was rejected: 62 to 38 percentage points. Likely the defining moment of his presidency, Boric has been unable to successfully bounce back, as his approval rating as of writing sits at a depressing 27 percent. However, his presidency is historic in other ways, too. At just 36, he’s the youngest president in Chile’s history, and the second youngest worldwide. With 14 ministers of 24, Boric’s administration became the first in the Americas to have a cabinet made up primarily of women. And, he’s the first Chilean president to have an openly LGBTQ+ minister in his cabinet. In fact, he has two.
He’s in Good Company
Primarily though, I think Boric’s international legacy will be one tied up with his neighbors - Pedro Castillo in Peru, Alberto Fernandez in Argentina, and Gustavo Petro in Columbia. These aren’t the only left wing Latin American politicians, but these four men in particular have a lot in common: they’re all leftists - not just leftists but radical leftists, and in all cases much more progressive than their respective predecessors -, they’re struggling with approval ratings, and they’re failing at delivering on most of their cornerstone campaign promises. Coming from a period of largely center-right and right wing rule across the continent, this leftist turn is unattributable to simply one factor, but corruption and ramifications of the pandemic undoubtedly played a role. However, what I believe to be the most fascinating about this, is that this isn’t the first time this has happened. Indeed this might be considered the “second pink tide” as the title of this article suggests. Starting in the early 2000s with leaders like Venezuela’s Chavez and Brazil’s Lula, the first pink tide peaked in the very early 2010s, before a return to more right and center right governments in the mid to late 2010s, setting the stage for the second pink tide that’s just been reviewed. However, while the first pink tide lasted for just a little over a decade, this pink tide seems unlikely to even reach that. With ineffective governments and plummeting approval ratings, the second pink tide seems very much at the mercy of the economy that partially put these governments in power to begin with. And, with the struggling of these administrations, the fruit is so incredibly low for right-wing campaigns setting up the next years of South American regimes. But who knows, anything can happen. One key recent development to be watched as a sort of canary-in-the-coal-mine of the second pink tide though is the recent reelection of Brazil’s Lula to power. Can leftism be successful (again) in Brazil? And potentially more importantly, can his and his fellow LatAm countries’ economic ministries stick a soft landing for the economy? If they can pull it off, there might still be a fighting chance for the second pink tide. If not, it might be Bye Bye Baby for Boric and his fellow leftists.
