A review from Damage control in Chile - The Economist 10/24/2015 - Andrew Ritosa
In the most left-wing program since the 1970s, Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, has been trying to push for a large government reform since she regained power in 2013. She wanted to focus on issues of inequality by challenging the current Chilean model of free economics. Since then, she has been pushing major reforms of taxes, education, and the electoral system. But despite the popular support for change early on, the once steady growth of Chile's economy has slowed to 1.9% last year. Many of Bachelet's supporters blame global market conditions saying that the drop in the price of copper has crippled its main export. But other critics claim that the economic downturn is due to the president's big reforms. Even Nicolas Eyzaguirre, one of her advisors, recognizes that they tried to do too much by saying, "we'd clearly got ourselves into a maelstrom of reforms that we were not going to be capable of either designing appropriately or processing politically." Despite the negative feedback, Bachelet is continuing forward with her planned changes, including redrafting a new constitution. In October, she laid out a drawn-out timetable by which they will send a draft to Congress. It will be presented by 2017, but will be decided on by the next Congress in 2018. The most telling critique of Bachelet's program actually comes from her allies. Saying that Chileans care more about equal opportunity and social mobility and that they just wanted to be part of the model, not get rid of it.