Chile, the right wins in Santiago, Boric praises voting and democracy

(ANSA) – SANTIAGO, CHILE, OCTOBER 28 – “Democracy must be cared for every day. Today we gave a clear example of this, with the candidates who lost greeting those who won. I am happy with these elections, I am happy with the Chile and I’m happy with the results.” These are the first words of the Chilean president Gabriel Boric, after the local elections where Mario Desbordes, the candidate of the Chile Vamos coalition (traditional right) is the new mayor of Santiago. Desbordes succeeds the outgoing first citizen Irací Hassler, who in 2021 became the first communist leader to lead the capital of Chile. With 51.2% of the votes obtained out of 92% of the votes counted against the 28.4% obtained by Hassler, Desbordes told the local press that “we managed to convince the people of Santiago that our changes are real and strong.” According to analysts, the outcome of the vote was affected by the insecurity crisis that has been affecting Chile for some time and which has worsened in the capital in recent times. With 92% of the seats counted, Chile Vamos brought home 123 mayors (35 more than in 2021), against the 110 of Contigo Chile Mejor, the 110 independents, the 101 of the Republicans (the far right of José Antonio Kast ), the 8 of the Democratic Center, while the Christian Social party achieved just one victory. In terms of votes, the left and centre-left obtained 38.2% of the votes, the right and centre-right 37.4%, and the independent candidates 24.3%. The governor of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago will be chosen in the second round, on November 24th, between the independent candidate Claudio Orrego and Francisco Orrego, of Chile Vamos. (HANDLE).