Three are the coordinators of the Command for Approval that brings together both coalitions of Government -I 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 considers representatives of each of the groups, parties and movements involved in the campaign. Last week the deputies Karol Cariola (PC), Vlado Mirosevic (PL) came to office, joining the lawyer and former advisor to President Gabriel Boric, Felipe Heusser (RD). Each of them landed on behalf of the three majority sectors of this “official” Command, which in parallel, is deployed territorially throughout the country, and is hastily preparing its space in the television strip.
A day after the traditional meeting of the expanded political committee of the heads of pro-government parties, held on July 18, the entry of the communist deputy to the campaign for the Approval as co-coordinator of the Command was reported. According to attendees, it was in a previous meeting with an “informal” character, held the previous weekend, and attended by some representatives of the different parties of the base of the Government, when the name Karol Cariola was heard for the first time to lead the campaign with Heusser.
That Monday, July 18, once President Gabriel Boric had already withdrawn from the meeting, they say that it was Ximena Peralta, the spokeswoman for Social Convergence, who put the option of the communist deputy on the table.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 say that the conversation revolved around the fact that the space of the Apruebo was weakened in political terms and that it was necessary to add figures with greater electoral experience. It was proposed, they say, that a coordination was needed that would give “more filming to the campaign in its last month, and start the teams and the campaign 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 following two days informal talks were held and that from this conglomerate the deputy of the Liberal Party Vlado Mirosevic was proposed, with the aim of reaching those sectors undecided, or related to the Approval to reform.
His incorporation “did not generate difficulties,” according to those inside the Command. This, because he is a young face who went through the Broad Front and who did not provoke antibodies “as if the appointment of some leader more linked to the former Concertación or to the 30 years of Democratic Socialism could have done so.” On Wednesday 20 its incorporation was made official.
On the role of both parliamentarians, in addition to the coordination they will exercise 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 has the same effectiveness, as they recognize within the Command, to the plan made in the second presidential round. In the internal they assure that Vlado Mirosevic will be deployed in the north of the country and Karol Cariola in the southern zone.
They explain that Mirosevic’s destination is the north for being a deputy of Arica and that of Cariola the south for “being better known nationally”. In addition, in 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 will impact on 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 the Rejection, which have chosen to privilege citizen faces far from traditional politics, the signing of Cariola and Mirosevic reflects a different strategy, which aims, according to people inside the house of London 43 -its center of operations- to the campaign experience of both parliamentarians and the closeness and good arrival 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 presidential second round, in the deployment.gue of what was called “A million doors by Boric”.
The decision that, in any case, shows the great influence, almost majority, of the political forces within a Command, which although it incorporates the social organizations grouped in “Approve x Chile”, these have evident and direct ties with sectors of Approve Dignity, such as the Broad Front. Proof of the above is that who assumes coordination tasks, representing the social world, is the lawyer Felipe Heusser. In addition, who also participates in the committees, is also the lawyer, executive director of the environmental law firm NGO FIMA and also close to RD, Ezio Costa.
In that sense, the appointment 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 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 close as possible to the elections where Gabriel Boric was elected.
“This, of course, benefits the Apruebo’s strategy with respect to 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 most extreme region in the north of the country. The mission of the Apruebo is to replicate the result of the presidential runoff, particularly in the Metropolitan Region. In those elections, Boric won by 20 points, which facilitated the triumph at the national level. Consequently, the Apruebo is living this as if it were a third presidential round, tied up with 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 fold into this space of the Ruling Party, the secretary general of Humanist Action (AH), Efrén Osorio, it is a “realistic” decision and that is the result of the consensus of the different actors participating in the campaign. “The view that we have with respect to Vlado and Karol, is that they are indeed two young faces, equal in terms of gender, who are very legitimized by their respective votes, and are people who can walk in the street and cause adhesion of people anywhere: in a fair, in the Ahumada promenade, in regions. From that point of view, it is a great advantage with respect to the spokespersons that the Rejection is trying to install, which is people or unknown or that causes a lot of spontaneous opposition from people in the street, “he said.
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 that both Vlado and Karol have, from a partisan point of view, I think they cover the entire spectrum regarding the political forces committed to this, to which are added leaderships of actors and actresses”. This is part of the message addressed “to a large number of undecided or people who are critically judgmentful about political activity,” he says.
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