Polos Opuestos · El Conquistador FM

Polos Opuestos | Bárbara Briceño, Francisco Vidal y Diego Schalper | 07-04-2026

·45 min·3 clips

Trump threatens to destroy Persian civilization, raising fears of global chaos and a new Middle East crisis.

1. Polos Opuestos airs live on April 7 with hosts Bárbara Briceño and Francisco Vidal alongside deputy Diego Schalper, vice-president of Renovación Nacional and head of its congressional bloc. 2. Schalper joins via mobile phone because the Chilean Congress has a firewall that blocked his connection through the show's regular platform. 3. The episode opens with Trump's threats against Iran, which Bárbara describes as having escalated from promising to leave Iran 'in the stone age' to threatening to 'destroy and extinguish Persian civilization.' 4. She compares the rhetoric to Hitler's explicit aims of eliminating Slavic and Jewish populations and notes that in the social media era such threats are visible globally in real time, unlike in 1939-1945. 5. The immediate Chilean consequence is fuel: without the MEPCO stabilization mechanism, a consultant told a morning show that fuel could rise 85 pesos per liter the following Thursday, a figure Bárbara says nearly caused her to faint. 6. The main policy discussion concerns the Quirós government's reconstruction law, described as having three legs: permit flexibility, cost adjustment, and what Quirós calls 'tax competitiveness' — aligning Chile's first-category and capital-gains tax structure with OECD norms. 7. Schalper reports that of 38 OECD members, 34 have fully or semi-disintegrated tax systems, while Chile remains among four with a semi-integrated system — a point he says the minister expressed more clearly than ever before. 8. He frames the broader tax debate as two legitimate economic models: raising rates to collect more immediately versus lowering rates to expand the taxable base and collect more over time. 9. Schalper notes that the Partido de la Gente, which has 13 deputies, is asking for the reinstatement of the Fondo de Utilidades Tributables, which he interprets as implicit agreement with lowering the first-category tax. 10. A separate bill proposes allowing migrants who leave Chile voluntarily to withdraw 100% of their AFP pension savings, since they will no longer accumulate contributions in Chile; Schalper supports the principle while opposing general AFP withdrawals. 11. Schalper references an interview by economist Abrigones arguing that the link between tax cuts and greater fiscal collection is not automatic but requires structural analysis of additional variables. 12. He then names left-wing economists including Isair Re who agree Chile's first-category tax should be reduced if compensated, leading Vidal to remark that if that is genuinely the conversation, 'we are in a different universe.' 13. The hosts discuss the second constitutional process, with Schalper arguing it was the opposition's equivalent of the Boric government losing its program when Marcel's tax reform was rejected in March 2023. 14. Vidal notes that neither Bachelet-era left figures like López Andía nor the Frente Amplio have fully acknowledged that the first constitutional convention's failures were their own political project. 15. Schalper praises the moderating influence of Republicans Claudio Alvarado and Pepe García, calling their role in tempering the Quirós government's more extreme positions 'simply remarkable.' 16. Vidal raises a foreign policy concern: President Kast's support for Argentina's Malvinas claim, expressed in his meeting with Milley, could conflict with Chile's traditional neutrality and its own territorial claims. 17. He reminds listeners that on December 22, 1978, the Argentine military dictatorship actually invaded Chile and was deterred only by what he calls Pinochet's 'cold blood and discipline with the armed forces.' 18. Senator Kuzanovic from Magallanes, cited by Vidal, warned that Argentina is already questioning Chile's Antarctic projection and continental shelf borders. 19. Both hosts welcome Chile's new 'boring' foreign policy under canciller Pérez Maquena: no presidential tweets, maintained positions on China-US balance, and stated neutrality on Israel-Palestine. 20. Vidal closes by noting the Palestinian community in Chile is the largest in the world outside of the West Bank, and the Jewish community numbers roughly 20,000-25,000, giving both diplomatic weight in any Chilean foreign policy statement.

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