Politics of Itaguay
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Itaguay |
The Politics of Itaguay take place within the framework of a unitary presidential constitutional republic in which the President is both head of state and head of government, being elected from a formal and well established multi-party system. Itaguay is known in the region for having a transparent political system, with a high percentage of women participation and stable and pacific transitions between left and right wing governments.
The politics of Itaguay are marked by important political figures during special periods, such as the former president Manuel Balmaceda (early 20th century), Juan Ignacio Recabarren (liberal figure during the 50s and 60s), María José Montesinos (first female politician in the Parliament, 1906), Jorge Bauer Echenique (civic leader of the 1973 coup) and Ignacio Larraín Hesse (first democratically elected President since the return of the democracy, 1985), among some. The country has a well established multi-party system with traditional parties whose foundations date from the initial life of independent Itaguay, these are the Partido Liberal (Independent Civic Union since the return of the democracy) and the Partido Popular; however, since the 80's, left-wing parties have gained attention being Compromiso por Itaguay the largest coalition of parties, winning in all elections between 1985 and 2004 and later in 2019. Right wing parties, on the other side, have led Itaguay during 15 years between 2006 and 2019 but with a centre-right and even centre-centre approach under the coalition Por Itaguay with Partido Popular, Independent Civic Union and National Alliance.
The executive power in Itaguay is excercised by the government of Itaguay, which is composed by the President of Itaguay and his or her Ministers; the Vice President of the Republic acts as the president of the Parliament of Itaguay and while in absence of the President, he holds the office leaving the first member of the parliament of the most voted governing party as president of the Parliament. The legislative power is vested on a unicameral legislature, whose seat is in Providencia; members of the Parliament are elected by universal suffrage during presidential elections for the same term of five years as the President and Vice President. The Judiciary is commonly called the third power of Itaguay and regarded to as independent of political power or presidential terms or administrations, it has its own budget and is composed of a Supreme Court composed by five members, courts of appeal, justices of the peace and courts of first instance specialised on different matters.
The democratic system of Itaguay is considered a semi-direct democratic system, allowing citizens to oppose laws approved by the Parliament or Executive by referendums, as well as the construction of mixed commissions with political and civilian figures. Changes on the Constitution can also be proposed and taken as priority by parliamentarians with plebiscites that can be arranged by commissions composed entirely by civilians.
Executive branch
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The executive power in Itaguay is exercised by the President of Itaguay, who acts as both head of state and head of government and his or her Ministers. Presidents are elected every five years by compulsory universal suffrage and while in their absence, the Vice President will be the holder of the office, otherwise, it is elected to preside the unicameral legislature, the Parliament of Itaguay. Presidents have the right to appoint his or her Ministers and these meet weekly during the Consejo de Ministros, in which policies and guidelines and made by the President while being advised by the 12 holders of ministerial portfolios; while power is equal between the President and the ministers during these instances, the decision-making process finds its base in consensus and dialogue and after an agree on a stance, all members of the Council must defend the posture.
Cabinet
The cabinet forms the government of Itaguay and it is composed by the President and Vice President (only if the first is not in the country or during extraordinary occasions) and the 12 ministers that are appointed directly by the President of Itaguay. The current cabinet of the republic is led by Carolina Ponce de León from the Socialist Party after the 2019 Itaguay Elections, it is a coalition cabinet with members her party, the Christian Democracy and the Social Democratic Party. Ministerial portfolios were assigned following the percentage of votes during the elections, being the Socialist Party the most voted party (with 7 offices), the Christian Democracy second (3 offices) and in the end, the Social Democratic Party (with 2 offices).
| Cabinet of Carolina Ponce de León (2019-2023) | |||
| Political party | Socialist Party | ||
| Christian Democracy | |||
| Social Democratic Party | |||
| Position | Name | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Presidency of Itaguay | |||
| President | Carolina Ponce de León | ||
| Vice President | Andrés Larraín | ||
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | |||
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Ana Clara Carrer del Monte | ||
| Ministry of Economy and Finances | |||
| Minister of Economy and Finances | Ignacio Echevarriarza Illera | ||
| Ministry of National Defence | |||
| Minister of National Defence | Juan Pablo Brum Duque | ||
| Ministry of Education and Culture | |||
| Minister of Education and Culture | Martín Vizcarra Sigall | ||
| Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mining | |||
| Minister of Industry, Mining and Fishing | María Ache Montero | ||
| Ministry of Stockbreeding, Agriculture and Fishing | |||
| Minister of Stockbreeding, Agriculture and Fishing | Rodrigo Larroulet Vignau | ||
| Ministry of Work and Social Security | |||
| Minister of Work and Social Security | Azucena Hutt Baer | ||
| Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure | |||
| Minister of Transport and Infrastructure | Concepción Arbeleche Morel | ||
| Ministry of Tourism | |||
| Minister of Tourism | Sebastián Montoya Lavín | ||
| Ministry of Housing | |||
| Minister of Housing | Enrique Büchi Buc | ||
| Ministry of Environment and Climatic Action | |||
| Minister of Environment and Climatic Action | Emilia Sichel Fontaine | ||
| Ministry of Welfare and Social Development | |||
| Minister of Welfare and Social Development | Pedro Blumel Mac-Iver | ||
Legislative branch
The legislative branch of power in Itaguay is vested on the unicameral Parliament of Itaguay, a legislature composed by 250 members called parliamentarians or parlamentarios, who are elected by the population during the general elections. Independent members of the parliament are uncommon in Itaguay and the current legislature does not count with any of them; current members are part of the three governing parties in coalition, plus the opposition (currently composed by four political parties). Members of the parliament are elected under a system of Ley de Lemas or double simultaneous voting, that meaning that every party (or previously accorded coalition) is a lema (representing a unique candidature for president and vice president) composed by several sublemas, which usually represent different factions inside a party; while the presidential candidature is previously accorded during the primary elections, the election of the members of the parliament is determined by the votes each lema and sublema received.
Elections
Itaguay holds elections every five years to elect president, vice-president and members of the legislature; elections are supervised by the Electoral Court of Itaguay (Corte Electoral de Itaguay), an independent branch from the Judiciary Power composed by a president, a vice-president and seven members appointed by the Parliament; the current composition was formed in 2017 and contemplates three members from the officialism, two from the People's Party and two from the UCI, while the president is independent, the vice-president is from the Socialist Party. The Electoral Court controls also municipal and departamental elections, referendums, plebiscites and elective processes in the government of the University of Itaguay and the Previsions Bank.
List of political parties
The politics of Parincota are marked by a strong presence of well established parties functioning under a multi-party system. The oldest parties in Itaguay are the People's Party and the Christian Democracy; however, modern politics since the return of the democracy, have been led by the People's Party and the UCI on the right of the political spectrum and the Socialist Party with its coalition with Christian Democracy on the left. Politics have been dominated by the Socialists and Populares, being the two parties the ones that governed the most times since the return of the democracy (3 and 3) and making it difficult to other parties to achieve the electoral success; the UCI and Christian Democracy are second on the line with one presidency each since the return of the democracy.
Before heading to the national elections to elect President and Vice-President, political parties must elect candidates during the primary elections, the candidates elected face the electorate in the general elections in October and if no candidate obtains the absolute majority of votes (50% plus one), there is a runoff, commonly called ballotage, between the two most-voted candidates. Coalitions are usually made before facing these second instance.
Judicial branch
The judiciary of Itaguay is often called the third power in the country and it is one of the branches of the government. On the Constitution its function is described as to interpret and apply the law, provide mechanisms for dispute resolution and ensure equal justice under the law regardless of genre, ethnic or socioeconomic background. The legal system of Itaguay is based on the civil law and since the reforms undergone during the presidencies of Manuel Balmaceda, it has influences from several developed !European legal systems. The judiciary of Itaguay is constituted as a hierarchical system of courts, in which at the highest court is the Supreme Court of Itaguay composed by five members appointed by the executive branch of the government for a ten-year term. The Constitution of Itaguay describes the conditions for the members as men or women, of at least 40 years and with a career in law of at least 10 years, members can not be older than 70 years old.
Below the Supreme Court, there are sixteen courts of appeal (each with three judges), seven courts of appeal specialised in civil matters, four specialised in criminal matters, three specialised in labour law (which work during negotiations to solve employer-employees disputes mainly) and two that cover family matters. The lowest tier is composed by justice of the peace and courts of first instance specialised in administrative, civil, criminal, customs, juvenile and labour cases. Although the hierarchy, all of them are functionally and structurally impartial, that is, the tribunal should not be interested in the object of the particular case, and the higher tribunal does not impose a behaviour nor precedent to the lower ones. The judiciary has also separated courts for the elections (Electoral Court) and the military.
As well as in the other two branches of the government, the judiciary of Itaguay suffered the influence from the military during the dictatorship. After the return of the democracy, the presidency of the Christian Democrat Ignacio Larraín Hesse undergone several reforms in the judicial branch of power, aiming to amend Human Rights violations conceived during the twelve years period; among some of the most highlighted reforms, there is the amnesty with the urban guerrilla group Movimiento de Liberación Nacional Itaguayan and the predominance of the legislative when choosing members of the Supreme Court.