Matías Ramírez (Communist Party) and Johannes Kaiser (Republican Party). Those are the two parliamentarians who embody the ideological extremes of the Chamber of Deputies, according to a report by the Institute Res Publica. While that may not come as a surprise, the study reports a larger phenomenon: both Republicans and Approved Dignity stand out for having greater internal cohesion than other coalitions in their respective sectors*100013 *.
To draw these conclusions, the study, which was conducted by Lucas Valenzuela, a researcher at the Political-Electoral Observatory of Res Publica, analyzed the 1,325 votes that were carried out in the Chamber between March 11, 2022 and March 11, 2023.
Among the findings, it stands out that I approve of Dignity -coalition that groups PC* 100025* and Broad Front– and Democratic Socialism -which includes PS, PPD, the radicals and the liberals- They are two distinguishable conglomerates according to the behavior of their deputies. While the former show greater internal cohesion and distance from the opposition, the members of Democratic Socialism are characterized by being more “dispersed and close to the right”, according to the report.
In this sense, Valenzuela explains that “the deputies of the original coalition of President Gabriel Boric are more aligned in their political positions, compared to both the average of the left and the right , being, in contrast, the members of its allied coalition (Democratic Socialism) more volatile. In general terms, a typical representative of Approve Dignity votes more distanced from the right and very cohesive with their own environment, while one from Democratic Socialism is more moderate in the face of the opposition and more dispersed”.
That makes deputies like the liberals Alejandro Bernales and Sebastián Videla, but also the independent-PPD Marta González and the radical Tomás Lagomarsino -all from Democratic Socialism– are among the closest to the right within the ruling party.
An example of this situation occurred when the deputies of Democratic Socialism supported the approval of the Nain-Retamal Law together with Chile Vamos, while some leaders of I Approve Dignity protested against the law outside Congress. In fact, on that occasion -although they did not finally specify it- some communist deputies and the Broad Front announced that they would appeal to the Constitutional Court before the project was approved.
03/27/2023
WIDE FRONT BENCH ENTERS THE PALACE OF LA MONEDA
PHOTO: MARIO TELLEZ / THE THIRD (MARIO TELLEZ/)
Likewise, the report states that Chile Vamos and the Republican Party are two different types of oppositions. On the one hand, Republicans are characterized by having “a strong internal alignment of their parliamentarians and for being very distant from the left”. On the other hand, the parties of Chile Vamos are “more dispersed” and “closer to the left”.
An example that shows the differences between both conglomerates was the same vote Nain-Retamal Law, when one of its articles was rejected by Republicans and approved by a large part of Chile Vamos. Another episode that reflects the differences between both sides was the constitutional accusation against the Minister of Social Development Giorgio Jackson, from which some parliamentarians from Chile Vamos were removed and was finally rejected.
Valenzuela explains that within Chile Vamos, the deputies Ximena Ossandón (RN) and Joaquín Lavín (UDI) are among the closest to the ruling party On the contrary, parliamentarians Cristián Labbé and Guillermo Ramírez (both UDIs) are part of the furthest away. Despite this, he adds, “there is no deputy elected by Chile Vamos who is more to the right than Republicans”. Republican Party, furthermore, Valenzuela states that generally “they are very aligned with each other, they are further from the left and are separable from Chile Vamos.For this reason, he anticipates that “if the Republicans maintain the same behavior (…) in the next Constitutional Council, it is likely that they will face difficulties not only in their relationship with the left, but also with Chile Vamos”.*100113 *
What about the center?
In between the blocks on the left and right is a group of six deputies that Res Publica conceives as “center”. They are Miguel Ángel Calisto (who resigned from the DC last year), Erika Olivera (who previously joined the RN bench), Francisco Pulgar (independent, but who was part of the PDG bench) and the militants of the People’s Party Rubén Oyarzo, Gaspar Rivas and Karen Medina.
In addition to them, there are others three deputies who Res Publica consider to be close to the center, although closer to the left than to the right. The three have in common that in the past they were members of the Christian Democracy (DC). These are Andrés Jouannet (Yellows for Chile), Jorge Saffirio (Democrats) and Joanna Pérez (Democrats).
Regarding the center , the study concludes that Republicans is the farthest right-wing party from that bloc. Likewise, the deputies who were elected through a quota of the Humanist Party –Pamela Jiles, Hernán Palma and Mónica Arce– and those of the Communist Party are the furthest from the center on the left.
And one more piece of information: according to the conclusions of Res Publica, Evópoli and the UDI*100159 * have similar levels of distance from the political center and RN is closer to it. Meanwhile, the most “centrist” parties are DC and Radical Party.
The study also highlights that there is a difference in voting between militant deputies of PDG and those who renounced it. While the triad Medina-Oyarzo-Rivas remains close to the center, the deputies Víctor Pino, Yovana Ahumada and Roberto Arroyo -who left the party last year- remain closer to* On the other hand, the Originally elected legislators in quota DC are, on average, closest to the center of Congress and therefore far from the left-wing average. The data is relevant, considering that in the Upper House the senator Yasna Provoste (also a decé militant) stands out for voting to the left of the Communist Party, according to another study of Res Publica.
