SHOULD we be concerned, should we pay attention to what is happening in Chile — and the world in general — with the extreme right?

“The answer is yes,” says Francisco Vidal, “Because it is a global phenomenon with specific repercussions in each country. As a result of the contradictions of globalisation and international phenomena such as migration, traditional conservatism has been pushed further to the right. We see this in Chile with the Republican Party and its current motto of ‘God, homeland, family and freedom,’ which is identical to that of the military putschists in Brazil in 1964.

“In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni adheres to the same ideas of extreme nationalism, intolerance, and an anti-migrant discourse. Much of this is promoted, such was the case with Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, by religious groups.

“In Chile, in the heavily indigenous Arauco province, the left ceased to be the main political force and has been replaced by the evangelical Christians who have some parliamentary representatives in the National Renewal Party (RN).”

When I ask if he thinks the right is capitalising on social unrest, social anger and frustration, Vidal points to the voting patterns in the plebiscite on the proposed new constitution, when the metropolitan region of Vitacura, the richest in Chile, and Lo Espejo, the poorest area in Santiago, both rejected the new plan.

The fact that the majority of voters in the most vulnerable area of Santiago listened to the right’s message and voted with the right should be a lesson leading to serious self-criticism within the ranks of the nation’s progressive forces. A better understanding can be garnered, Vidal suggests, from Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony.

“At the time of the plebiscite,” he points out, “the right attacked the proposals of the Constitutional Convention from day one, then went on, paradoxically, to maximise its hold on it, while the political parties in government today did not work together in the Convention. 

“Outside the attack targeted deeply held cultural perceptions. I witnessed how fake news about the new constitution panicked people: apparently, the left was going to take away your house, it was going to abolish the carabineros [a police force] that kept the left at bay during the 2019 rebellion, and then the country itself was going to be split up into new nations.”

I ask if he thinks the Republican Party and the extreme right are going to grow and do well in the next elections. “That has already happened,” replies Vidal. “In last year’s elections, the Republican Party hegemonised the whole of the traditional right and threw its support behind Gabriel Boric’s opponent the right-wing Jose Antonio Kast.

“Don’t forget that RN is the largest party in Chile in terms of votes and that the right-wing Independent Democratic Union is the second largest. Between them they have 48 members of parliament out of a total of 155.

“Then you have the very powerful Confederation of Production and Commerce and its ideological arm, the Institute for Liberty and Development. 

“In the March 1973 election, the last democratic election before the Pinochet coup, the right won 21 per cent of the vote — but in the first post-Pinochet election this grew to 38 per cent, and this holds steady to this very day.”

When asked if he believes individualism, racism, conservatism, social apathy and alienation are prevalent in Chilean society Vidal is unequivocal: “When you have a society that goes from being guided by solidarity to individualism, such a shift involves political choices.  

“The pension muddle is the best example. People are refusing a 37 per cent increase that they would get by moving to the state pension scheme and choosing instead to remain in private schemes that offer just 12 per cent for the same level of contributions. This is the level of absurdity we are at.”

There is also an obvious anti-communist campaign by the right under way now to attack the whole of the left — “But this is nothing new, it is the history of Chile,” says Vidal.

“In the days of the dictatorship, communists were executed and disappeared, all with the backing of the right. Asking the right and the ultra-right not to be anti-communist is like saying that the Andes do not exist. 

“Still, the Communist Party of Chile is the largest party in the government coalition, it has both a good parliamentary representation and social base outside. My only criticism is that, in the current situation, I miss the wisdom that the party offered during the Popular Unity government, when it was part of the left-wing alliance supporting Salvador Allende.

“I remember well a graffiti slogan from the walls of Santiago: advance by consolidating. Given the correlation of political forces in Chile today, the only way to move forward is precisely to consolidate, little by little.”

Does the strength of “Bolsonarism” in Brazil, “Trumpism” in the US, or the advance of the far right in Europe, encourage the far right in Chile?

“Of course it does. In its propaganda, it focuses not on the main contradiction of widespread poverty, insecurity and lack of healthcare, instead it draws attention to secondary contradictions that have roots in culture.

“Let me give you one example: migration. In Chile 10 years ago, there were 200,000 migrants; today there are 1.5 million. The right takes the side of the Chilean who is ‘abused’ or by the ‘criminal’ illegal migrant. 

“And another example: polls show that political parties are trusted by a mere 6 per cent of the population, but when the right staunchly defends the carabineros against any reform, this wins it the support of 73 per cent. 

“When it comes to security, the wealthy look after themselves and have three times as much protection in places like the already mentioned Lo Espejo.  

“Indeed, the origin of delinquency is in the completely unjust social structure, but while you fight the causes, you also have to fight the here and now — but we haven’t properly faced this issue yet. That is something the right wing picks up on. We have relinquished the issue of public order to the right.”

I ask Vidal how the advance of the right can be stopped. “We have to challenge its cultural and political hegemony. We must focus on the main economic and social contradictions because that is where the right wing is at its weakest and has no viable policies. Also, in the current situation, I think we need to confront it on its favourite grounds of migration and public security.”

As for the right taking residence in the presidential palace of La Moneda, in Vidal’s opinion, the dangers are there for all to see: “If we do not strengthen a good government programme, we could have problems. 

“Making progress with tax reform, pension reform, the 40-hour working week, union rights, making progress on health and addressing social problems arising from price rises — these are our workhorses, as is economic growth and public order. We must be unequivocal on these issues if we are to succeed against the right.”

Francisco Vidal is a professor of history at the University of Chile and was minister of defence in the government of Michelle Bachelet.

Hugo Guzman is the editor of El Siglo, newspaper of the Communist Party of Chile.