(The following article is from the January 16-31, 2010 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

PV Vancouver Bureau

In a historic development, three members of the Communist Party of Chile were elected to the country's Congress of Deputies in elections held on December 13. The first round of the presidential race was held at the same time, with a run-off between the two leading candidates set for January 17.

     This marks the first time Communists have entered the Chilean parliament since the Pinochet fascist coup of 1973. During the post-dictatorship period, Communists and their partners in the Junto Podemos Mas ("Together we can") coalition were unable to win seats at the national level, due to an electoral system tilted against smaller parties. The breakthrough was made possible by agreements with centrist forces to cooperate against the right.

     CP of Chile chair Guillermo Teillier is one of the new Communist deputies, along with Hugo Gutierrez and Lautaro Carmona. Teillier told the media that "There is a new mood... After so many years of struggle we achieved results and success in our goals. We have said we need a dialogue with all those willing to reach a minimum agreement for the country."

     Leading the presidential race with 44% after the first round was multi-millionaire Sebastian Pinera, candidate of the traditional right wing. Pinera is backed by Renovacion Nacional and Union Democratica Independiente, the party which inherited the mantle of Pinochet and is linked to reactionary elements of the Catholic Church.

     In second place (30%), was Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei, president from 1996-2000, running for the centrist Concertation alliance. Frei was also backed in the first round by the Socialist Party and smaller social democratic groups.

     Third place (20%) went to "independent" Marco Henriquez Ominami, son of the founder of the MIR ("Movement of the Revolutionary Left") which was sharply critical of the left-wing Popular Unity coalition government during 1970-73. While Ominami made some populist, anti-corruption promises in the campaign, there were questions about his links with certain elements on the political right and business sectors.

     Finishing fourth with 6.2% was Jorge Arrate, a former cabinet minister in the post-dictatorship coalition governments of Alywin, Frei and Lagos. Last March he broke with the Socialist Party and joined the Junto Podemos coalition led by the Communists. Arrate conducted a strong campaign against privatization of copper, water and other resources, and for democratic reforms.

     Arrate and Junto Podemos announced an agreement to support Frei in the second round, and to avoid running competing candidates against each other in local elections. Frei carried out many neoliberal policies during his term in office; in this campaign, he has called for expanded social welfare programs and other progressive reforms.

     While the right-wing had a slight lead in the Dec. 13 voting, the centre and left parties will continue to hold a majority in the bicameral Congress, in part because only half of the Senate seats were up for re-election. But the most recent opinion polls put Pinera in the lead for the Presidency.

     In another important development, striking copper miners have won new contracts at both the state-owned copper company, Codelco, and Anglo-Swiss multinational Xstrata. Negotiations continue for 280 miners at Codelco Norte and 500 more at El Teniente.

     Some 5,600 miners at Chuquicamata, located in Chile's northern region, ended a two day strike on January 5 after accepting a pay rise of 4% and a bonus totalling US$24,280. The workers also won a US$6,000 interest-free loan. Miners voted by 2,610 to 1,203 to accept the deal. The union had sought a 7.5% pay increase and a US$28,000 bonus, stressing the high cost of living in the north.

     The vast Chuquicamata complex produces around four percent of the world's total copper supply, and the short strike boosted global prices to a 16-month high.

     Mineworkers at Xstrata's Altonorte copper smelter agreed to contract terms, following a week of industrial action that ended on January 4. The settlement includes a two percent increase to base wages, a bonus of US$5,000, and an annual production bonus of US$1,500. Altonorte employs 660 workers and treats raw copper and other mining by-products to obtain copper anodes. Xstrata is the fourth largest copper producer in the world.