Page 12 - MONTT LATIN AMERICAN MAGAZINE, DECEMBER, 2021

Gabriel Boric: Ideologist of a New Latin American Left?
After the electoral triumph of the Chilean deputy, many leaders of the Region
wonder if he will be the one called to renew the parties of the democratic left of the subcontinent. He is expected to offer a viable economic model to replace neoliberalism; to end the remnants of the Cold War and unrestricted adherence to Marxism-Leninism. At the moment many of the glances of the new authorities are directed to the Portuguese model.
“The elected President of Chile, Gabriel Boric has a historic opportunity to create a new Latin American left that promotes social justice while staying away from the dictatorships of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Yes, it sounds naive, but it is possible. Boric recently criticized electoral fraud in Nicaragua; human rights abuses in Venezuela and the Cuban regime’s repression of peaceful protesters on the island. He probably did it because he needed to win moderate votes to be elected, but his sentences to condemn these dictatorships could be permanent. “
This is how the prestigious Argentine commentator Andres Oppenheimer watches the new President come to power in an article entitled “Will Boric Lead the New Left?, published in the Miami New Herald newspaper. Within the same topic, the specialist adds later that despite this possibility: “Boric certainly runs the
risk of driving away investments; the Chilean stock market fell by seven percent the day after his victory and cause more capital flight and more poverty. But if he handles himself responsibly, as he promised in his inaugural speech, he could become a role model. If Boric decides to promote social changes and, at the same time, defends democracy in Chile and in the Region, he would be the leader of a new democratic left. That would constitute great news, because in recent years the left was kidnapped by Venezuela and its allies, who have brought nothing but human rights violations, corruption and greater poverty. I hope it continues that way!”, concludes the journalist.
Another well-known analyst on Latin American issues, the Cuban writer Carlos Alberto Montaner, with less hope in the Government of the Frente Amplio, in an article entitled “What happened in Chile?”
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