Pinochet's legacy looms large as Chileans vote in presidential election
Chileans cast their votes Sunday in a presidential contest between 35-year-old leftist Gabriel Boric and law-and-order conservative José Antonio Kast, Reuters reports.
Boric, who rose to prominence as a student activist, is one of a cohort of young, progressive lawmakers who won election to Congress following 2014 protests against a proposed reallocation of public education funds. His platform proposes raising the minimum wage, abolishing Chile's private pension system, and creating a state-owned lithium company.
Kast, a devout Catholic and father of nine, is a former congressman who made an unsuccessful independent bid for the presidency in 2017. Kast favors corporate tax cuts and tighter immigration restrictions and has been compared to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and former U.S. President Donald Trump.
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.
The two candidates advanced to Sunday's runoff after claiming the top two spots in the first round of voting last month.
One of the main issues dividing voters is the economic and political system Gen. Augusto Pinochet bequeathed to the country he ruled as a dictator between 1973 and 1990. Supporters of Kast, who has spoken highly of Pinochet, argue that Chile's free-market model has led to strong economic growth and that Boric's policies would turn Chile into the next Venezuela.
"This election is Chile's last stand for freedom. Chilean voters already elected a socialist assembly to rewrite the constitution. If Kast doesn't win, I don't see how Chile will stay the most free and prosperous country of Latin America that it became since the 1980s," Venezuelan economist and anti-socialist activist Daniel Di Martino told The Week.
Boric voters, who according to The Wall Street Journal tend to be younger, claim that Chilean capitalism has produced too much inequality. Supporters of the leftist coalition have also expressed concerns about Kast's conservative positions on social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
A leftist-controlled assembly is currently drafting a new constitution for Chile to replace the one Pinochet left behind. Final polling showed a close race with Boric slightly ahead.
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Proposed Trump-Putin talks in Budapest on holdSpeed Read Trump apparently has no concrete plans to meet with Putin for Ukraine peace talks
-
Bolivia elects centrist over far-right presidential rivalSpeed Read Relative political unknown Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator, was elected president
-
Madagascar president in hiding, refuses to resignSpeed Read Andry Rajoelina fled the country amid Gen Z protests and unrest
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Israel, Hamas agree to first step of Trump peace planSpeed Read Israel’s military pulls back in Gaza amid prisoner exchange
-
Israel intercepts 2nd Gaza aid flotilla in a weekSpeed Read The Israeli military intercepted a flotilla of nine boats with 145 activists aboard along with medical and food aid
-
Japan poised to get first woman prime ministerSpeed Read The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
-
Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s planSpeed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages



