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November 02, 2019Three parties of the Chilean center-left opposition presented a counter-proposal to the social agenda of President Sebastián Piñera to overcome the crisis. Among the announced proposals, the raising of pensions, free transport for the elderly, reducing the number of parliamentarians, and finally a referendum for a new Constitution, established during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in 1980 and which has been reformed several times.The leaders of the Socialist Party (Ps), of the Party for Democracy (Ppd) and of the Radical Party (PR), which form the so-called Progressive Convergence, considered that the measures proposed so far by Piñera are "insufficient" and presented a list of seven proposals to overcome the political and social crisis that the country has been experiencing for more than two weeks. "We have structural counter-proposals for the change in Chile. What the government has put on the table so far is not enough to take into account the ocean's protests of citizens. The government's social agenda is insufficient, we must go to the fundamentals", explained the president of the PPD, Heraldo Muñoz, former Foreign Minister with President Bachelet. The main axes of the counter-proposal are the increase in pensions, a new Constitution, the fixing of drug prices and the modification of the tax reform.
Last Thursday, the leaders of the various opposition parties had met the Interior Minister, Gonzalo Blumel, who had provided them with details on the measures that the executive wants to implement, inviting them to make their own contributions with ideas and proposals. On 22 October, Piñera presented a package of measures to reduce social pressure and calm violent protests, which have so far left 23 dead. The president's social agenda foresees an increase in pensions, creating a guaranteed minimum income, lowering the salary of parliamentarians and some changes in public health.