Chilean voters revive the ghost of Pinochet

Chilean voters have elected Jos Antonio Kast, a self-proclaimed admirer of Augusto Pinochet, as president in a decisive first-round victory, marking a dramatic political shift toward the far right. The episode traces the collapse of progressive hopes following the 2022 election of Gabriel Boric, whose government, despite implementing modest reforms like reducing the workweek and boosting pensions, failed to deliver transformative change. The Boric administration’s attempt to replace the Pinochet-era constitution with a progressive, inclusive alternative was rejected in a national plebiscite, undermined by a coordinated right-wing campaign led by powerful media outlets like El Mercurio—historically aligned with capitalist and anti-socialist forces. The episode argues that the failure of the constitutional process and the rise of Kast reflect deeper structural issues: the limitations of bourgeois democracy, the enduring influence of imperialist interests, and the inability of reformist social democracy to challenge capitalist power. Drawing on Marxist theory, particularly Lenin’s critique of universal suffrage, the podcast asserts that electoral politics alone cannot achieve socialism, especially when the state apparatus remains a tool of the bourgeoisie. The return of a neo-fascist figure to La Moneda, the presidential palace, symbolizes a painful full circle for Chile, echoing the trauma of 1973 while raising urgent questions about the future of revolutionary consciousness in the face of renewed neoliberalism and geopolitical manipulation.