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Piñera Is Still Chile’s President, But Congress Is Not Listening

By Paula Schmidt

A long lame duck period is feeding a polarized scenario in a pivotal year for Chile.

SANTIAGO - Since the fault line in Chile’s social contract became visible back in October 2019, the solitude of the presidency has been the only companion President Sebastián Piñera can count on. The skilled management style and fiscal responsibility that led Chileans to re-elect him in 2017 have not garnered him any sympathy this time around, despite his handling of the pandemic. Piñera’s administration made deals with pharmaceutical companies before vaccines were even ready and started an efficient vaccination campaign early on. The speed of the process considerably lessened the...

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