Chile’s Communist Candidate Tones Down Proposals as Presidential Race Starts

Chile’s communist candidate Jeannette Jara pledged to gradually raise the minimum wage and increase lithium production in a government program released late Monday, a step back from the more radical proposals she unveiled earlier this year.

The plan, launched at the beginning of the presidential race, calls for consolidating the creation of a National Lithium Company and raising lithium production by 30%, paving the way for output to double over the next decade. Jara vowed to increase Chile’s investment portfolio by 25% during her administration and also to work with the mining industry on projects to lift production.