At 8:00 p.m. this Wednesday, the Socialist Party (PS) will deliver its resolution on the list to which it will join for the elections of constitutional councillors. On the one hand, there is the option of going with Approve Dignity – Broad Front, Communist Party, FRVS and AH – and, on the other, doing it with the parties of the former Concertación. None of the options seems to be comfortable for socialism.
The intention of the PS was to form a single list, but apparently this scenario would be sterile, since the Party for Democracy (PPD) and the Radical Party (PR) have maintained their initial position: go on a list made up of Democratic Socialism and Christian Democracy (DC). Now, the decision made by the Socialists will not only be crucial for the elections, but will also leave one or the other more alone, that is, either the President’s coalition or that of his historical ally, the PPD.
Over the weekend, the Socialist Party decided to go on a single list, supporting what was proposed by its president, Paulina Vodanovic, and former President Michelle Bachelet was even proposed as leader of this option. However, during the week the forces of the center-left (PPD and PR) have not moved in the direction of the idea of a single list and, what is more, they are waiting for the PS to decide under which label to go to resume talks. This Tuesday there was talk that the Socialists would be in the middle of an internal struggle represented by the president of the community and the general secretary, Camilo Escalona.
The main difference that these leaders would present arises from the possibility that the single list does not materialize, the most likely scenario so far. On Vodanovic’s side, she would advocate joining a list along with the parties of the former Concertación, while Escalona would support the Government and, consequently, appear on the Approve Dignity list.
The tension rises within the PS within hours of the decision being settled
The differences between Vodanovic and Escalona were revealed at the meeting of the party’s executive board on Tuesday morning. Close to those who were there, they report that the helmsman of the store asked Escalona for progress in the conversations regarding the candidates for constitutional counselors, about which the general secretary would have informed her that he had no news.
The president of the PS, according to the same sources, clarified that the progress of the negotiations and the names that will integrate the lists of candidates were the task of Escalona, and that he would be focused on other functions, such as his statements in the press -where He has insisted on a single list. For this reason, they explain, it would have been proposed that Eduardo Bermúdez replace Camilo Escalona in that role.
Hours after the situation was publicly known, the Socialist Party sent a statement that sought to clarify the doubts and rumors. They described as “false the reports of a meeting of a board of directors.” And they declared that the negotiations “will continue under the responsibility of Secretary General Camilo Escalona.” However, a source within said party assured that the notification had to be prepared – and underline that the general secretary would continue to be in charge of the issue of the candidates – to “lower the intensity” of the discussions. “Dirty clothes are washed at home,” they pointed out.
Close to the executive board and who support the option of going on a list with Democratic Socialism, they described Escalona’s attitude as “airs of defeat”. The leaders assured that there is the impression that within the political commission there are some undecided and that the last hours of Tuesday were essential, since meetings of different sectors of the community were held.They added that the opinions that can be given are decisive. in the next few hours certain leaders of the store.
AI’ll be in of AD
After the PS played offensive to achieve the single list by proposing Michelle Bachelet, Apruebo Dignidad decided to even offer a readjustment of the coalition to convince said party to form a joint list. This Tuesday, in the edition of The Mercurythe deputy and president of Social Convergence -the party of President Gabriel Boric-, Diego Ibáñez, made an offer that goes beyond the armor that the Government has or does not have: “What we propose is not that they join Approve Dignity , which has completed a cycle, but to configure a new political coalition where the Socialists assume an important leadership”.
The offer caused surprises in Democratic Socialism. The president of the Radical Party, Leonardo Cubillos, pointed out that the statements came unexpectedly, since “in short, what has been done to date is to establish a government alliance that was consecrated at the last meeting in Cerro Castillo.” In said instance, it was defined that going “on one or two lists in no case puts that government alliance at risk,” said Cubillos. Now, he warned, “if Diego Ibáñez or Approve Dignity was working underground in another position, I deeply regret it. I call for the work of honesty and transparency of the strategies to be through a political table and not through the press ”.
The doctor in Political Science Mauricio Morales indicated that, in the event that the PS joins a list with Approve Dignity, “for the Government it will be a low blow, since it will have to face the election with its original coalition, which is Approve Dignity. It is also going to enter into a dynamic of competition”. However, Morales added that the real blow will be seen at the time of the elections, since in the event that Democratic Socialism manages to obtain more votes for constitutional advisers, the Executive “will not only be in a legislative minority, nor a citizen minority, but also in a political minority”.
According to the socialist deputy Juan Santana, the Government would be weakened if the Executive parties compete on two lists. This, according to the parliamentarian, because “it means not accepting the President’s necessary call” and because “the Administration would be weakened.”
The second thing, Santana pointed out, because “a campaign stage will begin in this period in which obviously there will be a confrontation with disqualifications and harsh judgments. And since there is participation of parties from the two coalitions within the structure of the State, it will generate a confrontation”.
The loneliness of the PPD
For the Party for Democracy, the history of the two lists seems to be a settled issue, and in terms of the trust that they have to repair, they will do so throughout the entire constituent process: “The building of trust occurs through long term. After May 7, we will continue talking, and we will continue to participate in the Government and, therefore, we will generate trust and conditions to evaluate what comes later,” said the general secretary of the PPD, José Toro.
Now, for Morales, the definitions that are given in the next few hours could be decisive for the PPD: “It can go down in history as a brave party if it achieves electoral success in the next elections, competing with the DC and the PR, assuming that the PS is not part of that pact, or it can go down in history as a suicidal party that decided to take its own life at the worst moment, just when representation for the new constitutional process is being defined.
Leaders within the PPD and the PR indicated that they were aware that not appearing on a single list could mean not achieving the greatest balance in the Government – and the positions – that has been requested. However, they stressed that they expect the issues to be addressed “by different tracks.”
From the Democratic Socialism they explained that the objective of going on two lists responds to looking for 60% of the voters, which they describe as a part of the center-left that rejected the proposal for a new Constitution on September 4. They also stressed that they have the analysis that a scheme similar to that of Approval and Rejection should be avoided.
