The expressions of environmentalism in electoral competition: the case of Chile

Abstract

There are few political science studies that address the participation in the electoral arena of environmental demands in Latin America. To fill this gap, we analyze in this exploratory work the electoral expressions of environmentalism in Chile from 1993 to 2021. During this period, environmentalism has been expressed in the electoral arena through two options, sometimes complementary and at other times in competition. On the one hand, specific political parties have been formed, and on the other, environmental mobilization activists have participated directly. Regardless of the approach
adopted, the electoral re¬sults have been low until 2021, when environmentalist candidates achieved good results in the elections for regional governors and conventional constituents. However, in the legislative elections of 2022
the result was again low, but at the same time environmental demands have been given exposure by actors such as candidate, and subsequently President,
Gabriel Boric. Thus, it remains to be seen whether an electoral expression of environmentalism will become consolidated in Chile.