Original article: Cuando el Congreso le hace el trabajo sucio a la ultraderecha By Leopoldo Lavín Mujica Current Situation: In Chile, the government led by José Antonio Kast—elected in November 2024 with a platform emphasizing order, efficiency, and strongman tactics—faces its first Public Accountability report amid a backdrop of accumulated institutional scandals. Meanwhile, Kast’s neoliberal legislative package—a high-impact tax and regulatory project influencing the daily lives of Chileans—has been subjected to a Kafkaesque voting session in Congress that extended into the early morning hours. Key Players: Lawmakers earning over $9 million monthly, among the highest in the region.
Ministers proposing non-existent security plans. A newly appointed president of Codelco arriving amidst allegations of inflated production numbers. A former deputy facing charges for misusing electoral databases for party purposes.
A Science Minister who, according to sources within the scientific community, lacks confidence in science. These events unfolded in the weeks leading up to the first presidential Accountability report, a key moment when governments must present concrete results—beyond mere rhetorical flourishes. This critical scenario is not isolated to Chile; similar patterns can be observed in Argentina, El Salvador, Italy, and France.
Facts and Impacts on Democratic Life Liberal democracy does not perish overnight. It dies from accumulated absurdity. Each time a parliament takes 30 minutes to explain voting procedures.
Each time a minister manipulates tax figures that citizens cannot decipher. Each time a government substitutes public policies with metaphors, the ultra-right does not need to argue: they only need to point fingers. This lays the groundwork for ruling by decree—a familiar threat from authoritarian right-wing factions.
The premise of the ultra-right is straightforward and well-known: institutions are ineffective, politicians are corrupt, and the people need a leader who issues decrees. The danger lies not in whether this premise is accurate, but in how the system itself illustrates it with documents full of unsigned directives and non-existent security plans. The Mechanism of Anti-Democracy First, there is misinformation cloaked in figurative language.
Then follows fiscal opacity—rates and taxes constructed to be comprehensible only to corporate lawyers. Next comes the deliberate discrediting of public debate. Finally, the decree emerges: “Why go through so many procedures?
” Informed citizen participation—the irreducible foundation of any democracy—cannot exist without verifiable data, accessible debate, and genuine accountability. A Free Press and Uncensored Media are the Antidote A free, critical, and uncensored press is not an accessory. It is the only institution capable of asking the questions that the system prefers to leave unanswered.
What is truly behind Fontaine’s appointment at Codelco? What databases were used and for what purposes? Does that security plan exist or not?
These questions are not ideological. They are journalism. And now more than ever, they constitute an act of democratic defense.
The ultra-right did not create the discrediting of liberal democracy; they learned how to profit from it. Those responsible for manufacturing this discord sometimes sit in Congress, receiving fixed salaries, and lacking the ability to perform their voting duties. Increased democratic oversight is imperative.