El marc polític de Xile

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders

President: President : Gabriel BORIC (since March 11th, 2022). The president is both chief of state and head of government. There is no de facto vice president. In case the president is unable to perform his duties, his powers are temporarily transferred to the Minister of the Interior, who is then designated as acting president.

Next Election Dates

General elections (National Congress and President): November 2025

Current Political Context

In November 2021, Chile held presidential elections and the left-wing candidate, Gabriel Boric, became the youngest president ever elected in Chile, at 35 years old, as well as the one elected with the highest number of votes in Chilean history. That same year, Chileans went to the ballot boxes to choose the 155 members of the convention intended to draw up the new constitution to replace the country's current military dictatorship-era constitution. The current constitution has been long criticised for contributing to inequality in the country, as it emphasises private property rights, including those over natural resources, as fails to offer social welfare guarantees. A new draft of the constitution was written in 2022, but 62% of Chileans voted against it. The draft revisioned the economic and social model that was imposed on the country by Augusto Pinochet in 1980, address the current political structure (such as replacing the Senate with a Chamber of Regions), the provision of social goods and environmental protection, and also focused on making Chilean society more equal, for example, by requiring that women hold at least 50% of positions in official institutions. After the referendum results, Gabriel Boric said he would work with Congress and civil society to come up with a new proposal that would meet the demands of the people.

Main Political Parties

Chilean political forces are divided between left, centre-left, and centre-right coalitions. After the 2021 general elections, centre-right coalition "Chile Podemos Más" kept their position as the largest bloc in both chambers, followed by the new left-wing coalition "Apruebo Dignidad" (the second largest bloc in the Chamber of Deputies).

Chile Podemos Más (Chile, we can (do) more; former Chile Vamos!) is the current governing centre-right coalition, composed of the following parties:
- Independent Democratic Union (UDI): right-wing, conservative, liberal, Catholic
- Political Evolution (Evópoli): centre-right, liberal, conservative
- National Renewal (RN): centre-right, conservative
- Democratic Independent Regionalist Party (PRI): centre to centre-right, regionalist

Apruebo Dignidad (Approve Dignity) is a left coalition including:
- Humanist Action (Partido Humanista): left-wing, libertarian socialist, environmentalist
- Democratic Revolution (Revolución Democrática): centre-left to left-wing, democratic socialist
- Social Green Regionalist Federation (Federación Regionalista Verde Social): centre left to left-wing, green politics, sustainability
- Communist Party of Chile (Partido Comunista de Chile): left-wing, communist, Marxist–Leninist
- Christian Left of Chile (Izquierda Cristiana de Chile): left-wing, Christian left, Christian socialist             
- Social Convergence (Convergencia Social): left-wing, libertarian socialist, anti-neoliberalist
- Commons (Comunes): left-wing, autonomist, feminist

Some other political parties in the country include:
- Socialist Party (Partido Socialista de Chile): centre-left, social democratic, progressist
- Party for Democracy (Partido por la Democracia): centre-left, traditions of democratic socialism and liberal progressiveness
- Christian Democratic Party (Partido Demócrata Cristiano): centre, self-declared to bridge communism and capitalism

Executive Power

The President is both the Chief of State and Head of Government, and holds the executive power. The President appoints the Cabinet and has the authority to remove the Commanders-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He or She is elected by popular vote for a single four-year term and is not eligible for a consecutive re-election.

Legislative Power

The legislature is bicameral. The Parliament (or National Congress) consists of a Senate (the upper house) with its 50 members elected by popular vote to serve eight-year terms (with half of the membership elected alternatively every four years), and the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house) with its 155 members elected by popular vote to serve for four years. Elections follow the Hondt method (proportional representation). The citizens of Chile enjoy considerable political rights.

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

World Rank:

54/180

Indicator of Political Freedom

Ranking:

Free

Political Freedom:

1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House