New Leader of Chile’s Student Movement Seeks to Influence 2013 Presidential Election
On Wednesday, newly-elected Chilean student leader Andrés Fielbaum outlined his approach for educational reform in Chile in the coming year, emphasizing the importance of the student movement in determining the outcome of the December 2013 presidential elections. Fielbaum, a 25-year-old engineering student, was elected president of the influential Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de … Read more
Chile’s Municipal Elections: Everyone Loses, but the Ruling Coalition Loses More
The center-right ruling Alianza coalition led by President Sebastián Piñera suffered a setback in the municipal elections held on October 28. A year before the presidential election, prospects for the Alianza look grimmer. The Piñera administration—inaugurated two weeks after the devastating February 2010 earthquake—is now confronting the political aftershocks of his coalition’s losses and hoping … Read more
Elections in Chile: An Outlook from Santiago
As Chileans wake up tomorrow for municipal elections throughout the country, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera has urged his citizens to investigate their local candidates online before arriving to the polling stations. If his advice is heeded, it may well be a first in a day of many firsts. Given that a center-right government is in … Read more
Chile’s Lithium Reserves: The Nationalization-Privatization Battle
Chile has embraced extractive industries as a tool for sustained economic growth, but this relationship does not come without controversy. At the beginning of this month, only one week after the government had announced the winner of its lithium contract, the concession had been scrapped and Sub-Secretary of Mining Pablo Wagner had resigned. Chile is … Read more
