Left victory in the richest Latin American country with highest income inequalities

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*
In the age of rising tide of neoliberal authoritarianism and populist reactionary religious politics, the electoral victory of left brings smiles to all progressive forces beyond Chile. The people of Chile defeated José Antonio Kast -- a committed follower of the country’s former dictator, Gen Augusto Pinochet who established neoliberal authoritarianism in Chile before it spread worldwide.
The decisive victory of Gabriel Boric is a celebration of people’s power beyond the borders of the Andean nation. History repeats itself yet again. The victory of Chilean left brings hope that working class people can defeat authoritarianism and their neoliberal reincarnations. Boric rightly said that “if Chile was the cradle of neoliberalism, it will also be its grave”.
The victory of left in Chile in a record majority is not a symbolic victory. It has reinforced the idea of class consciousness, class organisation and class struggle encompassing issues of human and animal rights, individual freedom and dignity, gender justice, environmental justice rights of indigenous communities over their land, forests, water and natural resources.

Gabriel Boric, Chile’s 35-year-old President elect’s victory speech, covers all these universal ideals. The victory has shown that deepening of democracy depends on struggles on the streets with a clear agenda that rebuilds the politics of trust among the masses.
In terms of GDP, Chile is the richest country in Latin America, and it outperforms other countries in the region, but Chilean income inequality is highest among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The income share among the poorest in Chile is lowest in the world. The Chilean economic conditions are not very different from the rest of the world. These economic conditions are direct outcomes of neoliberal authoritarianism.

The mining led capitalist industrialisation has enabled various forms of Pinochet regime to maintain its control over the state and government for decades, which comes to an end now. Gabriel Boric vows to end the mining projects that destroys environment. It includes $2.5 billion dollar worth of controversial Dominga iron, copper and gold mining project. Boric government is going to be a government of the people and planet.
But the bourgeois agencies are on over drive to demean the Chilean left victory as forward march of corruption and misery. These far-right reactionary forces have started their strategic mobilisation to prevent radical transformation of Chilean society and economy that works for the masses. The bourgeoisie media brands the victory of left in Chile as Latin American abyss.
Such ideological onslaught on working class electoral victory shows that bourgeoisie fear the power and wisdom of people and their abilities to reclaim their rights during turbulent times. It is only left politics which can not only defeat neoliberal authoritarianism but also can provide sustainable alternative for the people and planet.

Chilean left shows the way to the left forces worldwide to reclaim the lost decades for a sustainable future. In left’s victory, hope trumped despair in Chile.
---
*University of Glasgow, UK

Comments

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat* The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia. The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam* The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani* A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid* We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra* Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Counterview

Search This Blog