More often than not, post-Allende Chile has been one of Latin America’s bright spots. World Politics Review gives us an overview of the current state of Chilean politics. Hat tip to RealClearWorld for the link.
The nation just elected a former conservative president - Sebastian Pinera - to a second, non-consecutive four year term. That is good for Chile.
They did not, however, give him a majority in either house of the Chilean legislature. This lack will make difficult rolling back social welfare adventures undertaken by the prior socialist administration of Michelle Bachelet. That difficulty is substantially less good.
Divided government is often a recipe for inaction, or halfway measures that satisfy no one. There are exceptions; Bill Clinton worked with Newt Gingrich’s GOP to do some useful things - welfare reform being the most well-known and least popular with Clinton’s party.
