Chile Election Watch: Politicians Team Up in Criticism of Bachelet

Following her recent meetings with Communist Party leaders, many opposing politicians have expressed their disapproval of presidential candidate Michelle Bachelet’s moves.

SANTIAGO — Despite other differences, politicians from the Allianza, the Nueva Mayoría and Independents seem to come together to express a common disapproval for political moves by poll favorite and ex-president Michelle Bachelet.

From the Progressive Party (PRO), candidate Marco Enríquez Ominami has expressed doubts, publicised this Saturday, over the support that the Communist Party has given Socialist leader Michelle Bachelet. Claiming that the alliance “does not honor the history” of the Nueva Mayoría, the PRO leader emphasized “within six months of the election, this is an act that defies history. What the Communist Party has done is renounce their politics, and renounce conviction.”

Guillermo Teiller and Rodrigo Peñailillo coordinated the meeting between Bachelet and the Communist Part representatives, leaving the remaining three leaders of the Nueva Mayoría (left-wing coalition) questioning the political relationship.

Current Chilean president Sebastián Piñera, although not allowed to run in the upcoming elections, has said that he will not be leaving politics and has joined the clamor against Bachelet. Many ministers and representatives have over the last week received visits from Bachelet’s representatives.

Michelle Bachelet and her party have made some complaints of “threats” and “hostility” from the current government. Her spokesperson Alvaro Elizalde this Friday accused Ñuble governor Eduardo Durán of “making gestures” to prevent part of the campaign in Chillán.

In an interview with Tolerancia Cero from CHV, Piñera acknowledged that such complaints have reached his ears, and has replied “she shouldn’t make accusations of this magnitude simply because someone has told her something she doesn’t like the sound of.”

José Antonio Gómez of the Social Democratic Radical Party (PRSD) has bigger concerns over the validity of the elections. What he calls a “scandal”, is that “after all the work since December, we will end up only holding six primaries for the entire election.”

The presidential candidate from La Serena is happy to participate in primaries for the Concertación as long as they are “transparent”, and will otherwise run as an independent candidate.

According to his 58-page proposal, it is clear that Gómez is dissatisfied with the entire political mechanics of the country, demanding a new health and education system on top of a new political system.

Although he could be described as an outsider in the running, he is not afraid of competing with ex-president Bachelet. He believes that open primaries are the best way to convince the public of his potential.

“I do not fear competition with other candidates. I know that it will be hard, but I do not doubt that I must compete. If I win, it will be the greatest happiness.”
http://www.ilovechile.cl/2013/05/27/chile-election-watch-politicians-team-criticism-bachelet/86676