Chile’s right pushes immigration as “politicised” issue in presidential vote

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00:00For more on this election, then, Rosanna Castiglioni is with us on the program from Santiago.

00:04She is the Dean of Social Sciences and History at the Universidad Diego Portales.

00:10Thank you very much for joining us today, Rosanna.

00:12So things have changed quite a bit then since Chile's last elections four years ago,

00:17which, of course, had seen social justice issues, questions of equality dominate the debate,

00:22that bringing the victory of left-wing President Gabriel Boric.

00:25The situation looks much different now.

00:27What has changed voters' priorities over the past four years?

00:32Well, I'm not sure that priorities have changed that much.

00:38What we had last election was a bit unusual.

00:43Generally, the emphasis on public safety that has been really strong now has been there.

00:49You know, this is not new.

00:51And this is quite surprising because Chile is a relatively safe country by all standards.

00:57But this is a topic that has been emerging with a lot of strength.

01:01What changed is the emphasis on immigration.

01:07And that, I think, is something that the right has been bringing to the agenda

01:14and has forced the left to take over on this issue, too.

01:18So that, I would say, is the real difference.

01:23And also, I think people have been, there is a sort of, people are sort of

01:29expecting an emphasis more in economic growth than in equality.

01:40And that's also a difference.

01:43Now, as you said there, Rosanna, crime is said to be lower in Chile than in many, if not most,

01:49other Latin American countries.

01:50It's really perceived as a safe place.

01:53So what is it that's driving seemingly, you know, intensified fears about crime there?

01:58I think that the type of crime has changed.

02:04We have seen some more violent type of crime that was not usual in the country.

02:11These sort of crimes also that have a lot of media coverage has been also in social media.

02:19So that has been a difference.

02:20And also the other difference is that there has been an increase in immigration.

02:25Chile is one of the countries in Latin America that has the largest increased rate of immigration.

02:33So this topic has been politicized.

02:37So it's not that we are having immigration for the first time.

02:42The thing is that it has become a political issue.

02:45And some politicians have been doing a very good effort to tie immigration and public safety.

02:57Now, on another angle, Cass has made no secret about his nostalgia in many ways for the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

03:06He even campaigned for the pro-Pinochet vote as a university student.

03:10Why do you think this isn't working against him in the eyes of voters?

03:14I mean, is it something that they're indifferent about, given some of the other things that you mentioned that are drawing them to the right?

03:21Or is it something that many simply support?

03:26Well, there is a very interesting paper that appeared a few days ago of Professor David Altman,

03:30where he claims that this cleavage of pro or against Pinochet, pro-distictorship, against the dictatorship, is fading away,

03:40and that a new cleavage is emerging, and that cleavage has to do with the constitutional process.

03:46The position that people took in the constitutional process that we have in Chile that failed, particularly the first one.

03:55So, and some have seen this first constitutional process as a pro-woke agenda.

04:05So, in a way, that's the division now, and this is new.

04:10We just have a little bit of time left, just about a minute, Rosanna, but I want to get one last question in for you,

04:15because just how much CAST will be able to change Chile will, of course, depend on his margin of victory.

04:20So, how do you expect other parties to perform, and how united is the Chilean center or right, for example, around CAST?

04:28Well, CAST has to moderate his discourse, because he doesn't control Congress.

04:35I mean, he needs the opposition to advance whatever it is that he wants to advance in Congress.

04:43So, I think the only way out is to moderate his discourse, to be able to sit down and talk with the opposition.

04:51Otherwise, there is going to be a very, very difficult government for him.

04:55Rosanna Castiglioni, Dean of Social Sciences and History at the Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago, Chile.

05:02Thank you so very much for joining us today.

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