Chile: the presidential campaign starts with a first debate
The five cadidates in the Chilean presidential election: from left to right, Gabriel Boric for the Apruebo Dignidad party, Sebastian Sichel for the Chile Vamos party, Jose Antonio Kast of the Republican party, Yasna Provoste of the Constitute Unity party and Eduardo Artes of the Patriotic party Union during a televised debate in Santiago, September 22, 2021. © AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The electoral campaign officially began this Wednesday, September 22.
The first round of voting is scheduled for November 21.
This is the first presidential election since the social movement of October 2019 against inequalities.
An election which also takes place in full drafting of a new Constitution, which should be completed next year and would replace the current text, inherited from the dictatorship of General Pinochet.
And to start the race at the Moneda Palace, a first debate between the candidates was organized on television on Wednesday.
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With our correspondent in Santiago,
Justine Fontaine
On the set, almost all the candidates are present: a Christian Democrat, a nostalgic for the Pinochet dictatorship, a Marxist-Leninist and then, the two favorites of the poll.
On the one hand, a former student leader on the left, and on the other, Sebastian Sichel, supported by the ruling right-wing coalition.
He says he wants to overcome political divisions.
“
First, I would like the president to build a grand coalition,
to reach transversal agreements,”
says Sebastian Sichel.
That he does not claim that Salvador Allende is the future, and that he does not debate about Pinochet or the previous government either.
So that we stop being polarized and being paralyzed
.
"
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To read also: In Chile, the question of the ban of rodeos is invited in the campaign
"Building a new Chile"
In front of him, the former student leader Gabriel Boric takes up the demands of the Chileans who demonstrated against the inequalities in the country.
End of the private pension system, creation of a single universal health system or even support for the Constituent Assembly which has just started its work.
"
What would make Chile ungovernable would be to change nothing,"
insists Gabriel Boric.
And today I represent the change, the transformation of the country, and the hope that we can build a new Chile.
"
After two hours of debate, however, several subjects were not addressed, such as education, the environment, foreign policy or the rights of LGBT + people.
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To read also: Chile: a new thorn in the side of the constituent assembly
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