An extension of maternity leave is unlikely to get more women working

Chile is already a leading light amongst developing countries and is soon to join the ranks of the developed world.

With policies like this, it can perhaps even teach developed countries a thing or two about balancing economic progress with a social conscious.

This is an old history in Chile. Our country has historically always aspired to the wealth and comfort of the european welfare state as it was experienced by the contry's enlightened oligarchy during the 20th century. The problem is that there's never been a clear socio-economic roadmap on how to get there in 21st century Chile. Instead, we get a lot of well-meaning measures that seem to reassure worker's right's and an egalitarian social security net, but in reality they end disrupting the very fabric of society that creates the resources for these benefits. Populism, in a word.

Democratization and the rise of the working class as a political force created incentives for paternalist measures that bought votes by protecting narrowly defined interests at the cost of society's greater interests. Mr Piñera fell for this too. Promising a well-sounding figure to reassure voters of his social credentials, then realizing the measure is a classic "headless heart" decision. This fits the very definition of populism.