<p>Chilean President Sebastiá;n Piñ;era is a white, conservative billionaire whose agenda includes counterterrorism measures, tougher standards on immigration, and regulatory changes aimed at boosting the mining industry and attracting foreign investment &#8211; <em>sound familiar? ;</em></p>
<p>They call him &ldquo;Chile&rsquo;s Donald Trump,&rdquo; and he isn&rsquo;t alone. Right-wing leaders have also come to power in Brazil (Michel Temer in 2016) and Argentina (Mauricio Macri in 2015). For the first time in decades, South America&rsquo;s three biggest economies are in the hands of conservative governments. ;</p>
<p>Sebastiá;n Piñ;era was elected in December 2017 after campaigning on promises to lower taxes and combat economic &ldquo;stagnation&rdquo; caused by years of center-left rule. He ;served his first term as president from 2010 to 2014. He was both preceded and succeeded by socialist President Michelle Bachelet. ;</p>
<p>Among Piñ;era&rsquo;s top priorities is to squash a violent rebellion by indigenous Mapuche Indian radicals in the Araucaní;a region of central Chile. This includes shutting down CONADI, a government land bureau that has been managing land transfers to indigenous communities.</p>
<p>Bachelet approved a 60% budget increase for CONADI despite increasing Mapuche attacks on businesses and Christian churches, causing many to suspect a massive racketeering scheme. ;</p>
<p>Piñ;era&rsquo;s aides claim they have discovered cost overruns of more than $20 million in recent land transfers to so-called &ldquo;indigenous communities,&rdquo; some of which are composed by fewer than 10 people who may or may not be indigenous. ;</p>
<p>Liberals have accused Piñ;era of &ldquo;militarizing&rdquo; the situation in Araucaní;a and are urging him to address the conflict with &ldquo;social and integral economic measures.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>Chile&rsquo;s decision to elect a conservative is part of a trend in Latin America that was no doubt inspired by the total economic collapse in Venezuela following years of socialist rule. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Like Trump, the recently elected presidents of Argentina and Chile, Mauricio Macri and Sebastiá;n Piñ;era, are business moguls-turned-politicians who came into office praising the virtues of applying business strategies to the job of governing,&rdquo; writes Omar Encarnacion. &ldquo;This is a stark departure for Latin America, whose right-wing leaders have traditionally been military men on horseback.</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> Latin countries are watching Venezuela&#8217;s socialist government go down the toilet, and this is pushing them to the right.</p>