On April 28, 2024, the Institute for International and Area Studies (IIAS) at Tsinghua University invited Professor Ricardo Javier Gamboa, the Deputy Director of the Institute of International Studies of the University of Chile, to deliver a lecture on "Chile's Political System and Current Challenges". The event was moderated by Peiyuan Xu, Assistant Professor at IIAS. More than 50 attendees participated the lecture, including faculty and students from IIAS, scholars and students from both domestic and international universities, through online and in-person session.

Starting with the Chilean electoral system, Prof. Gamboa analyzed Chile's political divisions and the vicious spiral of political instability. The instability dimishes the government's ability to provide public services and social welfare, which in turn reduces people's trust in the government, and the slowdown of the economy that exacerbates the social problems. Prof. Gamboa used the case of Chile's controversy on the constitutional amendment to illustrate the divisive state of Chilean politics. He argued that in such a polarized political environment, it is difficult to reach any policy consensus. According to Prof. Gamboa, the "lack of political will" is the core problem faced by the Chilean government and society, leading to significant challenges such as Pension Reform.

During the Q&A session, Prof. Gamboa and the audience had a lively discussion on various topics related to the lecture. They explored the prospect of pension reform in Chile, the cooperation between China and Chile and many other issues.

Prof. Ricardo Javier Gamboa Valenzuela is the Deputy Director of the Institute of International Studies at the University of Chile. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Tübingen, a Master's Degree in Political Science from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and a Bachelor's Degree in Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Prof. Gamboa has long been engaged in the fields of comparative political science and Chilean politics, and has published extensively on these subjects in both English and Spanish.

Text editor: Latin America and the Caribbean Studies research group
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