Boric scratches the court: candidate of Apruebo Dignidad emphasizes that “of course there will be modifications” to the program, despite opposition from the PC directive

“The program has to be fulfilled and not as far as possible.” That’s what Communist Party (PC) President Guillermo Teillier said in October before the first round of the presidential election, after Recoleta Mayor Daniel Jadue warned candidate Gabriel Boric (Apruebo Dignidad) not to deviate from the guidelines agreed in the FA-PC coalition.
This Friday, Teillier reaffirmed his position, noting that there is no time to discuss a new government program, in a complex scenario in which the second round is less than a month away – in which Boric will face José Antonio Kast (Christian Social Front) – and in which both programmatic contents have been strongly questioned by representatives and political analysts.
“We are willing to talk about programmatic issues. There is no time to go and discuss a new program, that is not going to be the case, to make it clear. There is a program of I approve dignity and that is the program,” said the president of the PC.
However, he qualified his sayings indicating that “there are topics that can undoubtedly be discussed, even perfected as Boric has said. Because the things that have been talked about are punctual, for example, the issue of crime, because to tell the truth, we in that subject have lacked argumentation.”
“On environmental issues too, if those are even some common sense issues. We’re not going to put ourselves in that of saying ‘no, they can’t be discussed’. That’s very good,” he added.
“In Boric’s program he comes, but maybe in another program he comes better, well that’s no problem in talking about it. And on environmental issues too, those are issues, even some of common sense, we are not going to oppose discussing. No, that is very good, but we believe that the main thing today is not so much an element here and another here, the main thing is political problems in the country,” Teillier added.
But contrary to the position of the PC, Boric scratched the court and assured that modifications will be made to his program. “First of all we today have the duty and conviction to summon not only those who supported us, but also those who for various reasons did not vote for us. We must listen to incorporate the good ideas to face the challenges that Chile has. We need national unity. In Chile there are many needs.”
“I have talked with Guillermo and with the PC, today not only because of the reality of Congress, but also to win in the second round, we have to welcome the good ideas of other candidacies and we are already doing it. We have met with the team of Yasna Provoste, Marco Enríquez-Ominami and social organizations. Also with programmatic teams to reach consensus on pension, economic reactivation, health and taxation. Of course we are going to make modifications, if not what does one speak for?”, stressed the standard-bearer of Apruebo Dignidad.
On Monday, in an interview with El Mostrador in La Clave, political analyst Marco Moreno referred precisely to this position of the PC: “The key is who adapts best, who can better make their positions more flexible to reach that electorate. If Gabriel Boric continues to have the gestures like the ones we saw last night (…), if he keeps talking to his supporters, it’s going to be very difficult for him to get a win in the second round. It has to get off the tree, connect better with the popular sectors.”
In that line, he said: “What is the complication that Boric has? That Kast is going to be willing to change everything, he’s going to be very pragmatic and change everything about his program. The question is whether on the left, the Communist Party has already warned that if a comma of the program moves, they will be there to avoid it, it makes one think about what that process of adaptation is going to be like.”

Original source in Spanish