A meeting was expected this Wednesday between Chile Let’s go (UDI, RN and Evópoli) and the Republican Party, within the framework of the negotiations for the candidates for the municipal and gubernatorial elections in October. However, at the close of this edition, said appointment was postponed. What they commented in the center-right bloc is that the plan is to first manage to unblock – between now and this Wednesday – the knots that exist within the UDI, RN and Evópoli, in order to then negotiate with the Republican Party in a more specifies the spaces where there is conflict.
Thus, the objective is to close the negotiation as soon as possible to prevent it from being seen that the ruling party is more organized.
To date, the main nodes between Chile Vamos and the Republicans are in areas where the two forces want to raise candidates, such as, for example, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Concepción and Recoleta, among others. Added to that is the pressure from the grocery store. José Antonio Kast for pushing applicants where Chile Vamos already has cards. This is what they did, for example, this Monday with the announcement of a mayoral candidate for Arica, while it is expected that this Thursday there will be announcements in Atacama and Coquimbo, within the framework of a Kast tour.
Time is of the essence, they say on the right, in the run-up to the final date for registering candidates, which expires on July 27. And in addition to all this, the atmosphere has become tense due to a series of cross statements during the day. Thus, at noon, the general secretary of the Republicans, Ruth Hurtado, maintained that “we Republicans have been insisting for months on the need to coordinate and be able to compete in the mayoral elections with a single opposition candidate. We have very competitive candidates throughout the country, but we have decided to do it only in around 60 communes out of a total of 345. We hope to soon know the candidates and the expectations of the other opposition parties.”
While the helmsman of RN, the senator Rodrigo Galileaindicated that the coalition is open to giving in spaces and that “we have not seen that Republicans have the same willingness, and I take advantage of calling for them to do things thinking about Chile.”
Meanwhile, the UDI helmsman, Javier Macaya He stressed in Meganoticias that “we are willing to support the candidates of the Republican Party to the extent that they mark a survey in an objective mechanism and that we can measure it, support their candidates and that they support ours when they reciprocally see those conditions”.
In Chile Vamos, in recent days they decided to toughen their tone. In this way, once they sit down at the meeting with the Republicans, they will maintain that the only way to define a single candidate is through polls, and that, if they do not access polls as a mechanism, there will inevitably have to be a electoral dispute in the sector.
Republicans, on the other hand, convey that they distrust Chile Vamos, as they emphasize that they announced the 60 candidates with whom they hope to compete, but that in the right-wing coalition they have kept the names confidential. In fact, last April, the bloc announced a pre-agreement for 200 defined communes, but so far they have not been made known.
Added to this tension are the intentions of the Republicans to want to run candidates for governor in all regions of the country.
In RN they are still upset by the decision of the Galilea board to go down to Luis Pardo as a candidate for governor of the Valparaíso Region, in order to support María José Hoffmann (UDI). The decision was difficult for RN. According to some sources, on Monday – during the negotiations – there were shouts between the leaders at the UDI headquarters.
Then, RN held its political commission, a time in which Galilea had to give explanations. There, some of those present asked to leave their cell phones in an assigned space due to accusations that there were members who were leaking the content of the meeting. At that same meeting, vice president Ruggero Cozzi presented his resignation from the board, through a paper that he left to Galilea – who did not accept his resignation.
The tension continued this Tuesday with critical statements towards the board. For example, the candidate from Chile Vamos for mayor for Viña del Mar, Ivan Podidoalong with other leaders of the sector, published a statement addressing the “discomfort” that caused them when Pardo was removed from the competition.
In addition, other signs are expected in support of Pardo and criticism of the board, such as a letter of support from councilors in the region. Some in RN want to ask for freedom of action not to support Hoffmann and want district councils to be held to criticize the table led by Galilea.
