Since the second half of the twentieth century, several political generations have sought to transform Chile's social and economic reality. Both the paradigm of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and the so-called "Chilean road to socialism" in 1970 formed an important part of the imagination of the traditional left-wing parties in Latin America. If in Cuba, the armed insurrection led to the seizure of power by Fidel Castro, in Chile, the electoral path of bourgeois democracy, as it was disparagingly called, allowed Senator Salvador Allende to become president in 1970 and initiate a process of transformation unprecedented in the world.

The 1973 coup d'état, instigated and supported by the United States, together with the right-wing parties, sections of the Christian Democratic Party and some generals of the Chilean army, broke with democratic tradition and established a dictatorship that was rejected by the civilized world and lasted for 17 years, shattering the dreams of social justice, revolution and socialism.

Since 1990, democratic governments have come and gone under the constitution approved by the dictator in 1980, which, despite countless amendments, remains Pinochet's legacy. During the long years of reign of terror, the left-wing parties, with the exception of the Communist Party, gradually distanced themselves from Cuba and the then Soviet Union and embarked on what was known as the "socialist renewal", strongly influenced by the experience of exile of its leaders, who had lived in Eastern European countries, particularly the German Democratic Republic.

Likewise, the "Eurocommunist" movement that began in Italy strongly influenced the process of discussion and renewal of a large part of the Chilean left, as well as the need to broaden the base of social support and open it to liberal and Christian sectors. The armed route as an instrument of change was definitively ruled out. The same happened to the Chilean Communist Party after the failure of the Cuban-backed uprising and assassination attempt against Pinochet in 1986, known as Operación Siglo XX. This led to the dictator's historic defeat in the 1988 plebiscite, which moved the country towards a formally democratic system, but with strong authoritarian overtones.

While an entire generation that had dreamed of revolution had to forget and govern with reality, in a country where the social DNA had been subliminally replaced by the neo-liberal economic model and individual initiative, the new children of democracy, born and educated in a country without fear and raised under the neo-capitalist revolution, questioned the achievements of 30 years of growth and political stability. They used to point the finger at previous generations, accusing them of having surrendered to neo-liberalism and accommodated themselves to the benefits of governance, forgetting the dreams of social justice. All this was confirmed with the “Estallido Social”, the outbreak of 2019, which completely changed the political scenario in Chile.

The country witnessed street demonstrations of one million people demanding a new constitution, an end to the private pension and health systems, changes in education, respect for ethnic minorities, and a host of demands that lie at the heart of the country's collective unconscious. In this context, it was not surprising that a group of former student leaders, bold, educated, and committed to the dream of structural change in Chilean society, sought to end the legacy of the dictatorship, reflected in the 1980 Constitution and the economic model, from within the parliament where they had arrived. From this position, they were harsh critics of the governments that had ruled for three decades, with all their shortcomings, and had reduced poverty to levels never seen in Chile.

The new generation won the presidential elections of 2022 with the promise that if the neoliberal model had been born in Chile, this would be its grave. Gabriel Boric took office as head of state, convinced that he would bring about the changes that several generations of left-wing politicians had dreamed of. His first reality check came with the results of the 2020 plebiscite on a new constitution, an initiative that passed with 78.28% of the vote. Two years later, however, it was rejected by 61.89% of the population.

Reality has ended up taming the dreams of this new generation and moving them towards the premises of social democratic reformism, of which President Boric seems to be the most convinced. This new generation has also failed to deliver on its promises of profound change. We have seen the end of the pension system and private health care. Hardly anyone talks about socialist ideology, let alone revolution. The current generation has given way to academically trained politicians who, while practicing the art of governing, have had to face the difficult reality and accept that no change is possible without a broad social force.

For a dependent country like Chile, the reality of the world stage has been compounded by the fact of governing without the knowledge of the experience of previous generations. This has strengthened the right-wing forces appearing on the political horizon. Today, there are three right-wing candidates, the so-called "German divide", who are competing to see who can be the toughest in restricting freedoms, persecuting criminals, reintroducing the death penalty, or building walls on the border. So far, there is only one woman on the left and center-left: Carolina Tohá, the candidate who will have to take on the responsibility of confronting the populist right identified with the military dictatorship that ruled the country for 17 years.

The first reactions to her candidacy were positive, as reflected in the polls, but she has a difficult road ahead of her, which she will be able to overcome thanks to her maturity, sobriety, experience and knowledge of the country, having been twice a minister, undersecretary of state, congresswoman and mayor of Santiago. Other candidates will certainly emerge from the left, but wisdom and experience are needed in the face of the growth of the populist right. The call to the progressive world is to take responsibility for moving forward under a realistic and non-voluntary common program that will make it possible to advance in the process of reforms that Chile needs, guaranteeing security and economic growth to continue reducing inequality, which is the greatest threat to the country's stability.