Chile’s first round of presidential elections has yet to produce a new president. The right-wing populist candidate José Antoino Kast received 28 percent of the vote, the left-wing Gabriel Boric got 25 percent. Since none of the candidates has obtained a majority, a second round is necessary. It will be held on December 19.
The two candidates are extremes of each other. Boric, 35, would become the youngest president of modern Chile ever. He has promised to raise taxes on the “super-rich” in order to pay for social services. He also wants to reverse the much-criticized privatization of, among other things, the pension system and curb the free market. Boric is supported by a broad coalition of left-wing parties, including the communists.
The 55-year-old Kast, father of nine and a convinced Catholic, mainly focuses on themes such as security and justice. On the contrary, he has spoken positively about the “economic legacy” of former dictator Pinochet, who ruled the country from 1973 to 1990 with a heavy hand and fully committed to the free market economy. Kast is regularly compared to former President Trump (US) or Brazilian President Bolsonaro.
Puppet
Kast called his left-wing opponent a “puppet” of the Chilean communist party who would “pardon” terrorists and do nothing against the crime. He has described the next round of elections as a choice between “freedom and communism”.
“We don’t want to end up like Venezuela and Cuba,” Kast told his supporters last night. “We want to be a developed country, and we wanted to be until we were brutally stopped by violence and the pandemic.”
Boric also addressed his supporters. “Today our job is to convince others that we have the best path to a more just country,” he said. He didn’t attack Kast personally.
unrest
Chile is economically one of the strongest countries in the region, but there is great social inequality. Large parts of the country’s facilities have been privatised.
Two years ago Violent protests arose after metro tickets became four percent more expensive. A special council of elected citizens is currently drafting a new constitution to replace the 1980 one. It dates back to the time of dictator Augusto Pinochet.
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