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Original article: Carlos Ominami y el paquete neoliberal: El riesgo de un «acuerdo» que no responde al malestar social

By Leopoldo Lavín Mujica

Three months into José Antonio Kast’s administration, a survey by Data Influye reveals a troubling diagnosis for the political landscape: the majority of Chileans oppose the core of the government’s neoliberal package and feel setbacks in the most sensitive areas of its management. Inflation, the cost of living, employment, and economic growth stand out as the weakest points of an administration that promised profound changes.

However, while citizens express their dissatisfaction clearly, former minister and senator Carlos Ominami, in an article published in a digital outlet, urges the government to initiate negotiations with the opposition, particularly with the Socialist Party, to push forward the so-called «megarreform.»

His rationale appears sensible at first glance: the stability of the political framework depends on broad political majorities, and a narrow vote (26/23 in the Senate) is not a solid foundation for such a significant reform.

Yet, what Ominami presents as a «last opportunity» to break the cycle of destructive alternations that Chile has experienced for over a decade is, in fact, a rehashing of the concertationista spirit that has long prevailed in Chilean politics: the pursuit of agreements at any cost, even when those agreements involve concessions, as seen with previous concertationist governments and Boric’s administration.

The Hard Data That Ominami Prefers to Ignore

The proposal Ominami supports — and which the Socialist Party has brought forward — makes significant concessions to the government: it agrees to reduce the corporate tax rate from 27% to 25%, with a projection to 23%; limits tax invariability for foreign investors akin to the old DL 600; and suggests replacing payroll subsidies with direct employment subsidies.

The issue is that Ominami seems to overlook the political and social context surrounding his call for agreement. The Data Influye survey is clear: 50% of respondents believe the «megarreform» represents a setback or a significant setback for the country, while only 31% see it as a step forward. Moreover, 52% disagree or strongly disagree that these reforms would reactivate the economy.

In other words, the majority of Chileans not only question the content of the Kast government’s neoliberal package but also doubt its ability to deliver the promised results. Nevertheless, Ominami proposes an agreement that fundamentally embraces the government’s fiscal agenda.

Concessions as a Method

The political style that Ominami embodies — a legacy of the concertationista tradition — is characterized by prioritizing agreements over a social democratic left program, emphasizing governance over transformation.

During the Concertation’s governance, this spirit provided political stability but also perpetuated structural inequalities, concentrated wealth, and allowed business oligarchs to dictate the contours of development, resulting in growing citizen disillusionment.

Today, that same spirit is reflected in Ominami’s willingness to compromise on central aspects of deepening neoliberalism, arguing that a bad agreement is better than confrontation.

However, according to the survey, citizens are not calling for agreements; they are demanding results. Sixty-three percent perceive setbacks in inflation and the cost of living; fifty-nine percent in economic growth and employment; fifty-eight percent in environmental quality. In this context, calling for an agreement that effectively validates the government’s direction is, at the very least, a disconnect from social reality.

The Risk of the «Last Opportunity»

Ominami warns that if the government insists on its confrontational strategy, the project could end up distorted in a Mixed Commission, which would be a poor outcome for both Chile and the administration. The question Ominami fails to consider is whether an agreement reached at the cost of significant concessions would truly be better for the country, especially when the majority of citizens have already expressed their rejection of the project in its original form.

The «last opportunity» that Ominami offers the government is, in reality, a chance for the administration to gain opposition backing for a program that the public has begun to evaluate negatively. It is, in that sense, a political concession: the willingness to yield not to stop the far-right project but to ensure its approval, even if it means disregarding the clear message the citizens have sent in the surveys.

Ominami’s call for agreement aligns with the spirit of concertacionismo. It arises from concerns about governance and the stability of neoliberal rules. Ominami’s proposal reveals a political approach that no longer resonates with a public demanding transformation rather than mere elite pacts.

The concertacionista spirit that Ominami represents — one of agreements over a social and democratic alternative, of concessions over convictions — has shown its limits. The Data Influye survey serves as a reminder that the citizenry is watching closely and evaluating harshly. In that scrutiny, calls for consensus may be perceived not as gestures of grandeur but as a resignation to reveal the true nature of the far-right agenda.

Kast’s government faces resistance from the people, rallying for the people’s needs. The solution lies in addressing citizens’ discontent by proposing a plan that meets their needs. Ominami, for his part, would do well to remember that the «last opportunity» is not for the government, but for a political class still trapped in the logics of a neoliberal model that restricts democracy.

Leopoldo Lavín Mujica

La entrada Carlos Ominami and Neoliberal Policies: The Risk of a «Deal» That Ignores Social Discontent se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.