The binomial electoral system also encourages a lack of representation over candidate selection. Candidates for office are chosen by the elites after intensive negotiations within the party coalitions. “The selection of …show more content…
The women organized many protests in public areas, for example, on the jornada de democracia or the work day for democracy Women protestors set up ballot boxes in offices and streets and asked people to cast a ballot for democracy (Oppenheim 2007, 159). The actions of the Chilean women did not go unpunished. Women were tortured and sexually abused, which constituted as ways men would punish women for stepping out of the gender roles and assuming political leadership (Hellinger 2011, 239). Despite the threat of punishment, multiple organized women’s groups were established during the Pinochet regime and the subsequent years after. For example, the Servicio Nacional de la Mujer (SERNAM) or the National Women’s Service (Richards 2004, 1). The SERNAM was one of the many women’s organizations that has also worked with the Concertación de Partidos por Democracia (Coalition of Parties for Democracy) for the betterment of women (Richards 2004, …show more content…
Political parties continue to maintain party coalitions and distance themselves from their party bases in order to win electorates in the binomial electoral system. The neoliberal economic model still is a major cause for the gap between the poor and the wealthy. Because the model provided stability the political elites were reluctant to make alterations even though it is harmful to many people. There is still a low number of female representatives in Chile’s national parliament, which can attest to the low representation of women despite the time that has passed. Pinochet was a major obstacle for a successful democracy in Chile. He created the 1980 Constitution and made it so that only a majority vote in both chambers could amend the Constitution. He was able to remain in power and influence policy decision making by being the commander of the armed forces. Pinochet appointed fourteen out of the sixteen judges that were a part of the new democracy. He also appointed nine designated senators who acted as guards who helped stop any legislation that would harm Pinochet’s policies. Despite all the challenges, a new law was implemented in Chile in April 2015 that would replace the binomial electoral system with proportional representation. With this new system Chile will be on its way to becoming a successful