In the public square of empty consensuses, few banners wave with as much unanimity as Wilson Ferreira Aldunate's. Just mentioning his name brings about automatic reverence: symbol of resistance, standard-bearer of freedom, martyr of democracy. However, as often happens in this republic of subsidized myths, it's wise to read the fine print of biographies before casting them in bronze.
His ideology was that of an enlightened statesman with aspirations of social redemption. His vision for the country, far from limiting political power, aimed to expand it in the name of the "common good": agrarian reform, expansion of the welfare state, and an industrial policy inspired more by Evita than by Adam Smith.
The agrarian reform he promoted didn't involve returning land to legitimate owners, but rather expropriating it to redistribute based on political criteria. The Wilsonist dream was that of a surveying and tutelary State, distributing plots as if handing out holy cards, in the name of a social justice he never explained how he would finance.
You may also be interested in this article about Mujica and his role in the 1970s, where the lesser-known background of an iconic figure is revealed.
His vision of the welfare state was not minimalist either. Rather, he intended to reinforce it. Wilson believed in a paternal State that would guarantee housing, health, employment, and happiness, as if that were a legitimate function of political power and not an excuse to interfere in every sphere of private life.
