Chileans cast votes in polarizing presidential election, runoff likely
Chilean voters head to the polls Saturday to vote for Chile's next president.
In Chile — as in France, Spain, and many other countries — the traditional center-left and center-right parties have lost much of their popularity, paving the way for new parties and new ideas. Seven candidates are seeking the South American nation's presidency, but AP reports that most of the attention is on the two front-runners.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Running against him is José Antonio Kast, a devout Catholic and staunch social conservative, who emphasizes the need for law and order, increased immigration controls, and lower corporate taxes. Kast served in Chile's Congress from 2002 to 2014 before launching an unsuccessful independent bid for the presidency in 2017.
Kast has also spoken favorably of the dictatorial regime of General Augusto Pinochet, who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. Some voters and commentators view Kast as symptomatic of a broader trend in the international right. "I see this as part of the global penetration of a populist speech similar to Jair Bolsonaro's in Brazil and Donald Trump's in the USA," Cristóbal Bellolio, a professor of political philosophy at the Universidad Adolfo Ibañez in Santiago, told CNN.
Chile, long considered an economic "miracle," has suffered massive protests against the constitution and free-market system bequeathed to it by the Pinochet regime. The current president, center-right billionaire Sebastian Pinera, has made concessions on both fronts. After a 2020 plebiscite passed with 78 percent of the vote, an elected constitutional convention began work on new constitution. The document will likely be ready for consideration sometime next year.
Neither Boric nor Kast is projected to win more than 50 percent of the vote. If neither receives the absolute majority necessary for outright victory, the two will face each other in a runoff election next month.
-
Political cartoons for February 14Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include a Valentine's grift, Hillary on the hook, and more
-
Tourangelle-style pork with prunes recipeThe Week Recommends This traditional, rustic dish is a French classic
-
The Epstein files: glimpses of a deeply disturbing worldIn the Spotlight Trove of released documents paint a picture of depravity and privilege in which men hold the cards, and women are powerless or peripheral
-
Key Bangladesh election returns old guard to powerSpeed Read The Bangladesh Nationalist Party claimed a decisive victory
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
EU and India clinch trade pact amid US tariff warSpeed Read The agreement will slash tariffs on most goods over the next decade
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
