Santiago, Chile – Chilean President Sebastian Pinera began his state of the nation address this week by apologizing to families affected by the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus.
“A lot of people get angry and frustrated because sometimes they don’t get the help they need at the right time,” he said told lawmakers Tuesday evening, surrounded by the beautiful walls of the Senate Assembly Hall at the Congress House in Valparaiso.
As a result of the epidemic, a small minority – both its members and cabinet leaders – were present at his last two-hour speech, which he gave six months before the election to elect a new president.
The newspaper wing of the right wing La Tercera received a message of cooperation with Pinera, in which he emphasized the need to negotiate and implement an agreement on a number of major issues in Chile.
Despite this, the President is stepping down from his unpopular job, while his former supporters have collapsed and their right wing alliance still exists. miraculous defeat in last month’s election – and this could affect the upcoming elections, experts say.
“Pinera has been left behind by the people who elected him and what is worse, is the freedom fighters and members of Congress,” Fernando Ayala, a former ambassador, told Al Jazeera. “Many Chileans are denying the financial, economic and health problems they have experienced.”
Exhaustion
Pinera, who was elected for a second term in December 2017 with 54.5% of the vote, was criticized for taking too long to provide the financial assistance promised to Chilean families. The people of Chile also said that the aid is not enough to meet their needs at a time when the economy is not doing well.
His government has been closely monitored for its handling of the epidemic. The Medical Association of Chile has repeatedly criticized health officials for failing to provide transparency in providing coronavirus-related information and explaining the decision-making process.
Meanwhile, many of Pinera’s listeners are secretly blaming him for the negative effects his wing party had on last month’s election, with Chileans voting for 155 representatives. Writing the rules for the new world.
It was the worst defeat of the right wing for many years, politicians say.
Robert Funk, a student at the Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Chile, said the results show that “Chileans are skeptical of political culture, are tired of existing parties, and are desperate for new faces”.
“As a result, Pinera aside, this affects all parties and those who want to,” Funk told Al Jazeera.
A wonderful promise
Meanwhile, the people of Chile did not expect Pinera’s speech on Tuesday evening. His supporters had already said they would be satisfied if the President spoke a little more about economic recovery and mentioned less about public safety.
But that changed when Pinera announced that her supervisors would speed up the law to legalize same-sex marriage. “The time has come for same-sex marriage,” he said.
“I believe we need to take a closer look at the importance of freedom, including the freedom to love and create a family with a loved one.”
Such a move has long been anticipated, as the project was promoted by former President Michelle Bachelet more than 10 years ago, and was shot down by many Chileans – excluding Pinera’s right wing alliance.
The bombing campaign is fueling government upheavals and to the surprise of many, including Pinera’s ministers, because same-sex marriage has not been held in public or in a government program.
The ‘Inheritance’ of Pinera
However, Pinera has strongly defended his leadership and the so-called “political legacy” of his party.
There is no doubt that the President’s success in his second term in office is the way the government regulates the COVID-19 vaccine. Pinera and his team were quick to get vaccinated at a time when many other countries were delaying.
According to Our World in Data, which tracks coronavirus-related statistics, Chile in March became the country with the highest vaccine against COVID-19 in the world, with an average of 1.08 jabs given per day per 100 people.
But this did not really help Pinera’s popularity; it currently has a 9% pass rate, and political analysts say this could affect the outcome of the November presidential election.
Ayala, a former ambassador, said that while the opposition was still divided, “right-wing candidates are trying to secede from Pinera and hope to please their constituents” ahead of the November 21 election.
‘Loss of election’
However, the President appears to be retiring while insisting that his superiors do great things for Chile.
“His remarks seem to reveal the same thing, with many program names but a little progress – and this is what most people realize,” said Heraldo Munoz, who was elected president and president of the Party for Democracy (Partido por la Democracia). The main opposition to Pinera, told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
Political analysts also say that Pinera would have led the process of drafting a new constitution to replace Augusto Pinochet’s long-running intelligence. But the interest of right-wing wings in voting made this impossible.
“The irony is that this is the first President to come to power with the idea of completely reforming and leading a new phase of development,” political scientist Mireya Davila told Al Jazeera.
“Instead, it ended up imposing Pinochet rules and met with a resolution that has not been seen since 1990.”
