There are three coordinators of the Command for Approve, which brings together both government coalitions – Approve Dignity and Democratic Socialism – in addition to the more than 100 social organizations grouped in “Approve x Chile.” They were appointed by the political table, which meets periodically and includes representatives of each of the groups, parties and movements involved in the campaign. Last week, deputies Karol Cariola (PC), Vlado Mirosevic (PL) came to office, joining the lawyer and former adviser to President Gabriel Boric, Felipe Heusser (RD). Each one of them landed on behalf of the three majority sectors of this “officialist” Command, which in parallel, is deployed territorially throughout the country, and hastily prepares its space on the television slot.
One day after the traditional meeting of the expanded political committee of the heads of the ruling parties, held on July 18, the entry of the communist deputy into the campaign for the Approval as co-coordinator of the Command was announced. According to attendees, it was in a previous “informal” meeting, held the previous weekend, and attended by some representatives of the different parties of the Government’s base, when the name Karol Cariola was heard for the first time to direct together with Heusser the campaign.
That Monday, July 18, once President Gabriel Boric had already withdrawn from the meeting, they say that it was Ximena Peralta, the spokeswoman for Social Convergence, who put the option of the communist deputy on the table. Those who were present assure that the conversation revolved around the fact that the Approval space was weakened in political terms and that it was necessary to add figures with greater electoral experience. It was suggested -they say- that a coordination was needed that would give “more filming to the campaign in its last month, and get the teams and the campaign going because we were already on the right ground”.
They say that on July 18 the representatives of Democratic Socialism were not so convinced with a figure like Cariola, and that they pointed to the need for a person to represent the political center. Thus, they describe that the two days after informal conversations were held and that from said conglomerate the deputy of the Liberal Party Vlado Mirosevic was proposed, with the aim of reaching those undecided sectors, or those related to the Approval to reform.
His incorporation “did not generate difficulties”, according to what they say inside the Command. This, because it is a young face that passed through the Broad Front and that did not provoke antibodies “as if it could have been done by the appointment of some leader more linked to the former Coalition or to the 30 years of Democratic Socialism.” On Wednesday the 20th his incorporation was made official.
Regarding the role of both parliamentarians, in addition to the coordination that they will exercise together with Felipe Heusser, they will be deployed in different regions of the country through the plan “The two million houses for the Approval”, bringing to mind, and hoping that it will have the same effectiveness, as recognized within the Command, to the plan carried out in the second presidential round. Inside, they assure that Vlado Mirosevic will be deployed in the north of the country and Karol Cariola in the south.
They explain that Mirosevic’s destiny is the north for being a deputy from Arica and Cariola’s destiny is the south for “being better known at the national level.” Besides, andn the internal they assure that the messages that they will seek to deliver in the door-to-door conversation are “certainties of how the new Constitution is going to impact daily life and the fact that it follows the line of citizen concerns.”
two million houses
Unlike the other Command in charge of social movements and organizations such as Modatima and the College of Teachers and Professors, and the Rejection Command, which have chosen to privilege citizen faces far removed from traditional politics, the signing of Cariola and Mirosevic reflects a strategy different, which points, according to people inside the mansion at Londres 43 – their center of operations – to the campaign experience of both parliamentarians and the closeness and good reception they have on the street. Especially the communist deputy, who was the first national majority, in the November 2021 elections, with 78,837 votes, and who played an important role in the second presidential round, in the deployment of what was called “One million doors by Boric”.
The decision that, in any case, evidences the great influence, almost majority, of the political forces within a Command, which although it incorporates the social organizations grouped in “Aprobes x Chile”, they have evident and direct ties with sectors of Approve Dignity, like the Broad Front. Proof of the foregoing is that the person who assumes coordination tasks, on behalf of the social world, is the lawyer Felipe Heusser. In addition, who also participates in the committees, is also a lawyer, executive director of the environmental law firm NGO FIMA and also close to the DR, Ezio Costa.
In this sense, the designation of Cariola and Mirosevic, for the political scientist and academic of the University of Talca, Mauricio Morales, is based on the fact that both parliamentarians have sufficient experience in electoral campaigns, and particularly, they played an important role in the recent elections. presidential elections, which is a factor that could be decisive in this last stage of the constituent process. In this regard, Morales believes that this “official” Command seeks to promote a scenario as similar as possible to the elections where Gabriel Boric was elected.
“This, naturally, benefits the Approval strategy regarding mobilizing the electoral infantry, in a similar way to what was done in the second round of 2021. In addition, Mirosevic places an important share of moderation in the political bloc and represents the region more in the extreme north of the country. The mission of the Approval is to replicate the result of the second presidential round, particularly in the Metropolitan Region. In those elections, Boric won by 20 points, which facilitated the victory at the national level. Consequently, the Approval is experiencing this as if it were a third presidential round, tied to the government and pushing the social base of the President”, says the analyst.
According to one of the members of the political table that brings together the parties of both government coalitions, in addition to Non-Neutral Independents (INN) who decided to join this space of the Official Party, the secretary general of Acción Humanista (AH), Efrén Osorio, It is a “realistic” decision that is the result of the consensus of the different actors that participate in the campaign. “The look that we have with respect to Vlado and Karol, is that they are effectively two young faces, parity in terms of gender, who are highly legitimized by their respective votes, and are people who can walk on the street and cause adherence of the people anywhere: at a fair, on Paseo Ahumada, in regions. From that point of view, it is a great advantage over the spokespersons that the Rejection is trying to install, which are people or unknown or that cause a lot of spontaneous opposition from people on the street, “he assured.
For his part, the communist representative within the Command, who is also the general secretary of the party, former deputy and historical militant, Lautaro Carmona, adds “if one sees the representation they have, from a partisan point of view, both Vlado and Karol I think they cover the entire spectrum regarding the political forces involved in this, to which are added the leadership of actors and actresses”. This is part of the message addressed “to a large number of undecided or people who are with a critical judgment regarding political activity,” he says.
