Chile government coalition withers in constitutional vote

Bloomberg

Chile’s right-wing government coalition likely secured fewer than a third of the seats on the Constitutional Assembly in this weekend’s historic elections, making it more difficult to block major changes and leaving independent and the opposition left-wing parties with more sway to rewrite the new charter.
Contenders from the government coalition’s main list obtained 21% of votes with more than 90% of ballots tallied, electoral office Servel said on Sunday. The results put them on track for 38 of the body’s 155 spots, according to calculations from consultancy firm Unholster.
Having fewer than 33% of seats would leave center-right members at disadvantage in the Assembly, as all articles have to be approved by a two-thirds majority.
A heterogeneous group of independent candidates unexpectedly secured more than 60 seats, reflecting Chileans’ rejection for traditional parties and at the same time adding uncertainty as one of Latin America’s richest nations rewrites its laws following the worst social unrest in a generation.
At stake are the very economic rules that have driven years of growth while simultaneously fueling social discontent and inequalities. Recent political tensions and surging coronavirus cases are also weighing on sentiment.
While right-wing candidates unified under one main list, center and leftist aspirants were spread out across different groups. Many analysts expected those divisions to make it easier for contenders backed by the government coalition, known as Chile Vamos, to obtain one-third of Assembly seats despite
Pinera’s low popularity.
The worse-than-expected standing for the government coalition is likely to be negative news for Chilean assets, according to Jorge Selaive, chief economist at Scotiabank Chile.
In recent weeks, the billionaire president has faced criticism for being out of touch with Chileans grappling with the country’s worst virus surge to date. He came under fire for belatedly getting behind plans for early pension withdrawals after first trying to block popular proposal.
Voters cast their ballots as Chile slowly beats back a record-breaking surge in the pandemic. The election was originally scheduled for April, though lawmakers voted to postpone it until May.
as daily virus infections and hospitalisation reached all-time highs.

“Our citizens have sent a strong and clear message to the government and traditional political parties,” Pinera said Sunday night in a televised speech. “We are not adequately in sync with citizens’ demands, and we are being questioned by new leadership. It’s our responsibility to listen to this message with humility.”
Last year, citizens overwhelmingly decided to scrap the current constitution implemented during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship. It was a key demand of protesters who took to the streets starting in October 2019 initially over a subway fare hike before broadening demands to include better public services.
“We need a constitution that helps all Chileans, not only the wealthy,” said Felipe Mora, 22, who voted on Saturday in downtown Santiago. “Something more egalitarian.”
Voters cast their ballots as Chile slowly beats back a record-breaking surge in the pandemic. The election was originally scheduled for April, though lawmakers voted to postpone it until May as daily virus infections and hospitalisation reached all-time highs.
The election was also marked by a better-than-expected showing for some smaller, left-wing parties, in addition to independent candidates. Meanwhile, moderate and center-left parties such as the Socialists and Christian Democrats obtained 15% of Assembly votes.
“This vote is a punishment for the current government and a warning sign for traditional political parties,” said Claudio Fuentes, political scientist at Universidad Diego Portales.