Citizen expectations: green shoots?

After the increase in citizen pessimism in 2026, at levels comparable to those of the pandemic, the government begins to breathe a little easier, seeing the first green shoots emerging from the efforts deployed to promote its program. Amidst stumbles and disorder within its ranks, it managed to advance two milestones: the processing of the ambitious Reconstruction Law and — after months of not meeting campaign expectations on security — the launch of the Agenda against Organized Crime and Terrorism (ACOT). Recent polls report support for both projects (Cadem, UDD). The Executive hopes this will allow it to break the inertia, close its learning phase, unite its “non-coalition” — parties that support it but behave indisciplined in public — and inject energy into a team that has dealt more with self-inflicted problems than with achievements. And, above all, it wants to curb citizen despair regarding its leadership of the country. It will bet on transitioning towards a period of recovery. However, it would be naive to believe that the shift in public opinion will be quick. One first element to consider is the depth of the pessimism, rooted in the higher unemployment. More than a reform that garners applause from investors and experts, or shows results only in a couple of years, citizens expect to see them soon. And while economic concern has grown strongly worldwide, its intensity in our country is overwhelming: Chile is among the countries with the highest pessimism, well above Latin America (Ipsos, 2026), and has been at its highest level since March 2014 for more than fifteen weeks (Cadem). The security agenda faces a similar problem. Crime, the top citizen concern for decades, makes us stand out — at a bad time — globally: Chile ranks among the countries with the highest sense of insecurity (Gallup, 2026). Perceptions are not anchored to the evolution of victimization: they stem from different experiences of insecurity — local and media-driven — revealing the complexity of mitigating the anxiety caused by crime. There is also the danger that penal populism will cloud parliamentary discussion. It is easy to imagine the security agenda being hindered by friendly fire and the creativity of a sector of the right — already shown during the campaign — to propose showy initiatives, without effectiveness in solving crime, which would only slow down the approval of proposals made by the government. The mega-reform and the security agenda, while they can fertilize the ground for a recovery of expectations, anticipate the long road remaining for a substantial change in perceptions. Economic, order, and security problems will not be solved overnight; it is unlikely that the announced measures will have an immediate impact on people. By Magdalena Browne, Dean of Communications and Journalism at Adolfo Ibáñez University NEWSLETTER Opinion Saturday, AM Tensions in ideas, contrasting views, and clear analysis: elements to unveil the issues that divide opinions and will shape the agenda. By subscribing, you accept the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies of La Tercera.