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| Regionalist Party of the Independents (Chile) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Regionalist Party of the Independents |
| Native name | Partido Regionalista de los Independientes |
| Country | Chile |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Dissolved | 2018 |
| Position | Centre-right to regionalist |
| Headquarters | Santiago, Chile |
Regionalist Party of the Independents (Chile) was a Chilean political party active between 2008 and 2018 that promoted regional autonomy and decentralization within the unitary state of Chile, competing in municipal, regional, and parliamentary arenas. The party engaged with actors across the Chilean political spectrum, interacting with figures and institutions from the Concertación era through the Nueva Mayoría and Chile Vamos coalitions, while contesting policies from the Presidency of Sebastián Piñera and Michelle Bachelet.
The party was founded in 2008 amid debates triggered by the 2005 Constitutional discussions and reforms linked to the Binominal electoral system and demands echoing earlier movements such as the Mapuche conflict and regional mobilizations in Magallanes Region, Araucanía Region, and Antofagasta Region. Founders included municipal leaders and regional councilors who had ties to Independent Democratic Union, National Renewal (Chile), and splinters from the Christian Democratic Party (Chile) who sought alternatives to the centralized party model exemplified by Concertación and the Alliance. The party registered with the Servel to contest elections, participating in the 2009 presidential and 2013 parliamentary cycles where it formed pacts with smaller formations and negotiated candidate lists with figures from Amarillos por Chile, Movimiento Amplio Social, and local coalitions in Valparaíso Region and Biobío Region.
The party articulated a platform combining regionalism, administrative decentralization, and market-friendly policies, positioning itself in dialogue with doctrines advanced by thinkers associated with Christian Democracy and liberal conservatism in Latin America. Its proposals referenced institutional reforms such as replacing the Binominal electoral system with proportional mechanisms, strengthening regional councils, and promoting fiscal transfers akin to models discussed in Mercosur policy debates and OECD regional development frameworks. On social issues, the party often aligned with positions held by leaders of National Renewal (Chile) and pragmatic factions of Evópoli, while occasionally engaging with environmental concerns raised in campaigns around the Atacama Desert mining controversies and conflicts in Pangue Dam-style disputes reflected in the history of Hydroelectric projects in Chile.
Organizationally, the party adopted a federalized internal structure with regional committees in provinces such as Santiago Province, Maule Region, and Los Lagos Region, led by a national directorate and a president who coordinated electoral strategy with municipal mayors and regional councilors. Notable leaders who served in elected positions included regional politicians who had previously been associated with Linares, Punta Arenas, and Calama municipal governments, and who interacted with national legislators from Christian Democratic Party (Chile) and Independent Democratic Union when forming inter-party blocs in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and campaigns for the Senate of Chile. The party maintained relations with civic organizations such as neighborhood councils modeled on Chilean precedents like the Asociación Chilena de Municipalidades and engaged legal advisers experienced with the Constitution of Chile (1980) amendment processes.
The party's electoral performance varied: in municipal elections it secured mayorships and council seats in provincial capitals like Osorno, Iquique, and Coyhaique, while in parliamentary races its candidates sometimes entered the Chamber of Deputies of Chile through coalition lists that negotiated seats with centrist and centre-right partners. It contested the 2009 and 2013 presidential endorsements, aligning tactically with minor presidential bids and later negotiating support amid the 2017 presidential field that included Sebastián Piñera and Alejandro Guillier. The party faced thresholds established by Servel and the electoral reforms that replaced the Binominal electoral system with the D'Hondt method in 2015, which affected its seat allocation dynamics and registration status leading up to its dissolution in 2018.
Regionally, the party exerted influence in policy debates over natural resource royalties in Antofagasta Region and taxation issues in the Biobío Region, participating in alliances with regional movements such as those surrounding the Aysén Region protests and the Magallanes regional strike episodes. Its elected mayors and councilors engaged with administrative institutions including the Intendencia (before the creation of elected regional governors) and the nascent office of the Gobernador regional after institutional reform, lobbying for enhanced competences over public investment and road infrastructure projects tied to national programs like the Programa de Mejoramiento Urbano and regional development funds similar to those used in Inter-American Development Bank-backed initiatives.
The party attracted criticism for alleged clientelism linked to municipal public works contracts and for tactical alliances perceived as opportunistic with national parties such as Independent Democratic Union and National Renewal (Chile), provoking scrutiny from civic watchdogs inspired by cases like the Penta case and debates around campaign finance reform. Critics in Universidad de Chile and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile political science departments argued that the party's regionalist rhetoric sometimes masked neoliberal policy continuity associated with post-Pinochet party realignments, invoking comparisons to historical episodes such as the Chilean transition to democracy. Additionally, its inability to meet electoral thresholds after the 2015 electoral law reforms led analysts from institutes like the Centro de Estudios Públicos to question its institutional sustainability and grassroots depth.
Category:Political parties in Chile Category:Regionalist parties Category:Defunct political parties in Chile