translated from Spanish: Parties move their chips in the face of the parliamentary ones: between the “old banners” and the renewal of politics

Registration for the November elections is just around the corner and each pact is currently going through the most tense moments of parliamentary negotiation, when the lists begin to be cleaned up and there is little left to close them. A conversation that is not without friction and arguments, and where distances are usually generated by the space that the smaller parties have compared to the more numerous or with better results in the latest electoral measurements.
Most bet on the fact that this week the payrolls can be purged as much as possible, understanding that the clock is practically on, with less than a week left to formalize before the Servel. Each pact has its own problems and also its criteria when it comes to nominating names, all of which are inevitably marked by the presidential scenario.
In general, the communities have opted for deputies in office, well-known politicians or former parliamentarians for the senatorial quotas, in addition to those who are going for re-election. For the councils, the range ranges from former candidates who competed in the municipal elections or conventional constituents and did not win, but had positive results. It also includes former political leaders who were removed from the “front line” of politics, and territorial leaders, with no experience in known positions, plus those who are up for re-election and one or two more media names.
One of the stones in the shoe in the opposition pacts has been the hegemony installed by the parties with the best electoral results in the last measurements, such as the DC and the PS in Unidad Constituyente, and the FA and the PC in A aprueba Dignidad. In the stores with more quotas it was common the comment that “there are small parties that go over threads and get demanding”, while from the communities with fewer spaces point out that “there are parties that pass the machine and look at us in less”.
The incidence of ME-O
One of the main flanks in Constituent Unity is what will happen to the Progressive Party (PRO). This is because it is expected that this day the Constitutional Court (TC) will decide the future of his political rights, which until now has been the brake to make official his option to La Moneda. And while they will await that resolution, the PRO has confidence in the precedent that was set with the case of Christian Warner, former me-O’s counselor, a case in which the TC unanimously accepted the injunction of inapplicability for unconstitutionality, thus recovering their political and citizen rights.
Although the final decision will be made by the PRO on Sunday, after the citizen consultation of The Constituent Unity, there are several in the party who maintain that “there are no reasons not to go.” This, they say, does not necessarily mean breaking the parliamentary pact with the rest of the bloc’s parties. The rest of the communities rushed to rule it out. “If they go with their own presidential candidate, they have to leave the parliamentary list. We were clear with them from day one,” said a leader of the bloc. The eventual departure of the PRO means – they assumed in The Constituent Unit – rearranging names to close the final payroll.
But some also expressed their objections to the possibility that the PRO will finally welcome a senatorial candidacy of Rodrigo Peñailillo, a former minister who was investigated in the SQM case, on illegal financing of politics. This is because the PRO, in a political gesture, offered the quota to the former secretary of state, who was slammed by the PPD and the PS. However, for now there is no agreement, since Peñailillo’s intention is to compete for the Biobío Region as a senator, where the PRO wants to defend with one of its ranks the current position of Alejandro Navarro.
“It would be to carry a dead person that nobody wants, to get into the mud without any sense,” emphasized a leader of one of the constituent unity parties, however, in the PRO they emphasized that Peñailillo was not formalized and that the principle of presumption of innocence is on the table.
Among the cards that the PS has put on the table to the Senate, is that of Juan Luis Castro, and in the Bío Bío are Manuel Monsalve and Gastón Saavedra, current deputies, and also the former deputies Clemira Pacheco and Daniel Melo –who both generate certain internal resentments, especially Melo, for their link to crimes of domestic violence–; in Coquimbo, Daniel Manouchehri, lawyer and former directorstudent nte; Romanina Morales, in the 12th district, who competed as a candidate for constituent for the same sector; among others.
In the PPD one of its biggest bets is on the current president of the party, Natalia Piergentili, as well as Domingo Namuncura as a deputy in Florida. Also María José Díaz, who was an independent candidate in the PPD quota for the 16th district in the election of conventional constituents, and other young leaders, such as Marcos Pérez, in Tarapacá.
In the DC, names such as those of former Minister Alberto Undurraga are resurfacing. Also, as a candidate for the Senate in the Metropolitan Region, Eugenio Ortega Frei, son of the president of the party, Carmen Frei.
The Radical Party’s main bet is to reach the Senate with Deputy Marcela Hernando. In addition, he would bring back the party’s former president, Ernesto Velasco, and his former presidential candidate, José Antonio Gómez. And, as some acknowledged, if Carlos Maldonado does not win this Saturday, he could also assume a parliamentary seat.
In I approve Dignity the tension was protagonist this Tuesday. The Broad Front (FA) presented a formula for distributing the quotas that was well received. However, sectors of Chile Digna claimed that the Communist Party (PC) opted to minimize the rest and take more quotas. In the PC they bet, among their strongest cards, on Guillermo Teillier for an armchair in the Senate for the RM. And although they aspire to maintain their current presence in the Chamber of Deputies, the departure of Camila Vallejo caused concern, especially since it is a large district, with communes such as La Florida and Puente Alto.
In the FA the names go through Karina Oliva, who was a candidate for regional governor; former prosecutor Carlos Gajardo; RD Pablo Paredes for District 10, and current Deputy Miguel Crispi, who could bet on the Senate. In the Social Green Regionalist Federation (FRVS), the bets for the Upper House are with Alejandra Sepúlveda and Esteban Velásquez.
To these ongoing talks are added other opposition pacts, such as that of the Equality Party and humanist party, in addition to the independent candidacies, such as those of the People’s List, which seek sponsorships to get to register on August 23, and where Fabiola Campillai stands out among its best known, who is betting on reaching the Senate for the Metropolitan Region.
The knots of Chile Vamos
Unlike on previous occasions, the ruling party’s great problem in forming the parliamentary lists today does not have to do with the fact that such a party passes over another party or because of differences with respect to protected seats, as usually happens in these instances. The knot, today, consists of the difficulty of finding new faces who want to compete for a seat in Parliament in a context in the “brand” Chile Vamos is completely down, so at least they recognized it transversally in the ruling party.
To the above is added the complexity of complying with the requirements imposed by the presidential candidate of the conglomerate, Sebastián Sichel, and that consist of carrying young names and that do not drag a backpack with the brand of a political party, all this crossed with the difficulty that has meant, for some more than others, to complete the gender quotas that the law imposes.
For the ruling party, the formation of the lists is a “life and death” situation, because after having lost more than 30 municipalities, having achieved only 1 of 16 regional governors, and having fallen far short of expectations at the Constitutional Convention, losing Parliament would mean being left out of the game in all the country’s major decision-making spaces.
In this way – and although the registration deadline expires on Monday, August 23 – in Chile Vamos have had to postpone on two occasions the presentation of the parliamentary agreement, which sought in some way to differentiate itself from the opposition, in relation to the capacity to govern that both would have.
But that has not been possible. The meeting of the cross-party electoral committee of the pro-government conglomerate, which was scheduled for This Tuesday, August 17, had to be suspended, because both the RN and Evópoli accused agenda problems, an elegant way of saying that they still have several complexities to solve.
And while the spirit would be to follow the directions of his presidential standard-bearer, in terms of finding fresh faces willing to change gradually – which is the strategy Sichel has applied to differentiate himself from the opposition – the Senate apparently runs with its own logics.
As they said, “to compete for a senate seat you need a higher level of knowledge,” so the rules this time would not be even for one House and another. In this way, names like the dand Manuel José Ossandón, Jacqueline Van Rysselberghe, Iván Moreira, among others, are still on the table awaiting ratification.
In any case, one of the fundamental logics for this body, and which was accepted by all, is not to hinder the path of those who have the possibility of going to re-election. This, considering that the ruling party was the sector that suffered the most when the law that placed limits on re-elections was approved. To put it in context, it was the approval of this law that ultimately cost former Interior Minister Evópoli Gonzalo Blumel his job, since the UDI never forgave him, accusing him of having had an “immense lack of political vision,” which to this day they refrieve when they remember the great defeat in the municipal elections.
For now, the UDI is scheduled to meet its general council on Thursday afternoon to ratify its list, which has not yet been finalized. There are twelve deputies who will not be able to be re-elected, among them Celso Morales, Javier Hernández, Iván Norambuena or Enrique van Rysselberghe – who would bet on going to the Senate in Biobío. To these are added the names of the president of the UDI, Javier Macaya – who would run for the Senate for the sixth region; the secretary general, María José Hoffmann, who also sounds like a senatorial letter; Issa Kort, who left her post to take over as Chile’s ambassador to the OAS; and Ramón Barros, whom they are trying to convince to move to the Upper House as well.
In the case of RN, in the councils, there is a more or less clear map, although not without difficulties to fill the quotas of those who cannot be re-elected. While in the 8th district Camilo Moran –mario Desbordes’ replacement–, along with Christian Pino –partner of Minister Karla Rubilar–, in the 9th district the bet will be the re-election of Eduardo Duran and Erika Olivera. In the 10th, the dish would be repeated by deputy Sebastián Torrealba, and tomás Fuentes would accompany him on the list.
In the 12th, it is Ximena Ossandón who is going to bet on re-election, and since Leopoldo Perez cannot participate, the name of a former regional councilor is being sounded out. The 11th district will keep the payroll of its three deputies: Catalina del Real, Gonzalo Fuenzalida and Karin Luck.
Part of the still unresolved puzzle involves convincing the deputy for La Araucanía, Miguel Mellado, to compete, since he does not want to do so; also, Frank Sauerbaum to bet on the Upper House, considering that he wants to be re-elected in his deputation; and, finally, to find a companion of Marcela Sabat and Manuel José Ossandón for the senaduría by the Metropolitan Region.

Original source in Spanish