Eight Proposals to Put People and Communities First in Chile’s Upcoming Election

Original article: Ocho medidas para volver a poner a la gente, al pueblo y a los pueblos primero

By Fernando Astudillo Becerra

Chile stands at a historic crossroads. The first round of the presidential elections on Sunday, November 16, has left us with an electoral map where the right and its factions achieved a significant number of votes, theoretically forming an electoral majority.

However, this apparent consolidation of the right should not be interpreted as a signal that the Chilean people have abandoned their demands for dignity and social justice; rather, it reflects disillusionment and a desperate quest for radical solutions to chronic issues.

The protest vote and the thirst for immediate change have been channeled toward options that promise a «strong hand» or a «magic solution» without addressing the power structures that perpetuate inequality.

Jeannette Jara represents a Chile that still believes in solidarity, distributive justice, and a social and democratic state governed by law.

The election on December 14 is not just a political contest; it’s a decision about the type of society we want to build. Will we continue down a path of individualism and inequality, or will we shift towards protecting social rights and dignifying life?

We must not let fear or discouragement paralyze us. The right, with its many faces, proposes a path of retreat, fewer rights, greater repression, and safeguarding its privileges. The total of their votes in the first round, no matter how high, is fragile, built on heterogeneous discontent rather than a solid programmatic conviction for the majority.

The youth vote, the vote of the impoverished middle class, and the vote of workers will define the future. Chile’s destiny is not privatization of life or authoritarianism, but the collective construction of a fairer future.

Jeannette Jara’s program offers a clear and achievable path, focused on the urgent needs of citizens. These measures, with a direct impact on people’s lives, garner support from broad sectors of the population, transcending party labels. However, to enhance this support, Jara needs to propose drastic measures to restore popular dignity.

What follows is a citizen’s opinion suggesting that Jara’s program can be enriched and empowered by presenting eight proposals that could mobilize hope and ensure a popular victory in the upcoming runoff:

1. Commit to presenting a bill for a fourth withdrawal from pension funds (the fourteenth in legislative terms). If these funds belong to the people, they should not be enriching a few while their rightful owners struggle to pay debts or improve their living conditions.

2. Establish a Fair Price Commission, comprised of the state, consumer representatives, and producers/importers. Its main task will be to define and monitor a basic basket of essential products, limiting price increases and speculation in vital items.

3. Propose a national program for free adult diapers and technical aids: Create a direct distribution system through Primary Health Care to guarantee the monthly and free delivery of adult diapers and necessary technical aids (wheelchairs, canes, etc.) for dignified aging, alleviating family expenses.

4. Quality healthcare without waiting: Operations for 16 hours a day, with a performance bonus. To eliminate surgical waiting lists, all operating rooms in public hospitals must operate 16 hours a day. It is a catastrophe, and it must be tackled, that 30,000 Chileans die waiting for surgery. To ensure medical staff compliance, a performance bonus will be established for teams that reduce wait times to OECD levels.

5. Credit relief: Mandatory renegotiation of usurious interests. A law will be promoted that forces financial institutions to reduce interest rates on personal and family debts (excluding mortgages) that exceed 25% of household income. This will provide real relief to indebted middle class.

6. National Populist Pharmacies with generic formulas: Utilize the state’s purchasing power to create a nationwide network of State Pharmacies (similar to CENABAST and popular pharmacies) that directly imports high-quality generic medications, ensuring prices 80% lower than current prices for chronic treatments.

7. Family care bonus and labor recognition: A monthly family care bonus equivalent to 50% of the minimum wage will be established for those (mainly women) who demonstrate exclusive dedication to the care of a severely dependent individual or elderly person.

8. Equal pay for men and women. For equal work, equal compensation. To achieve this, reforms will be promoted in the Labor Code and administrative statutes as proposed.

Surely, many ideas have reached Jeannette Jara. This proposal aims to be a catalyst for her and her advisors, and if implemented in her discourse, it will change the course of voter preferences by creating conditions to mobilize the vote of those seeking answers to their needs from political and economic right. Transforming these voters’ decisions will tilt the balance toward Jeannette Jara, who embodies a proposal where the state acts as a guarantor, not an observer. Victory is achievable, but it requires boldness and an even more radical commitment to satisfying the pressing needs of Chileans.

By Fernando Astudillo Becerra.-