SANTIAGO, Chile — With three years left in his term, Chilean President Gabriel Boric is already facing doubts on whether he’ll be able to advance on any key reforms after receiving a crushing blow near his first anniversary as the world’s youngest leader.
The chamber of deputies rejected a tax bill on Wednesday that would have financed social programs to reduce inequality and boost social services — the key policies that swept Boric into office in the recent wave of leftist victories in Latin America.
Now the 37-year-old president has to decide whether to present the bill to the senate, where it will face even more opposition, or wait a year to try in the chamber of deputies again. More broadly, the defeat will embolden the opposition and raise questions about the political acumen of Boric’s team to bring progressive change to a country that’s maintained a business-friendly status quo for decades. The finance minister had expressed confidence that lawmakers would back the tax bill just days before.
