Chile: a country deeply divided after the first round of the presidential election

In Chile, the two coalitions that have shared power since the end of the dictatorship disappear behind two more radical candidacies.

But the country remains deeply divided.

ERNESTO BENAVIDES AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

4 min

In Chile, voters voted for the first round of the presidential election yesterday, Sunday, November 21, to appoint a successor to conservative Sebastian Piñera.

The result shows a deeply divided country, led by the Chileans led by far-right candidate José Antonio Kast, a 55-year-old lawyer nostalgic for Pinochet and carrying an ultra-conservative agenda.

Facing him is Gabriel Boric, barely 35, the candidate of the progressive left, in favor of the establishment of a welfare state "European style".

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We can say that Chile turned a page in its political history yesterday, writes

our special envoy to Chile

,

Raphaël Moran

. The two coalitions that have shared power since the end of the dictatorship disappear behind two more radical candidacies. The far-right candidate

José Antonio Kast

, first, who poses as Pinochet's heir, and who has managed to recover the votes of the government right, very weakened by the unpopularity of President Piñera.

Kast reached the second round with nearly 28% of the vote: he campaigned for the return to order in the streets, against the right to abortion, he posed as a candidate for freedom against communism. In front of his supporters, gathered in the chic neighborhoods of Santiago, the far-right candidate once again insisted on safety and attacked his competitor Gabriel Boric, "

 the only presidential candidacy that represents an alternative to face drug traffickers and delinquents, the only option that will put an end to terrorism, is our candidacy.

There's no other.

Because Gabriel Boric and the Communist Party want to pardon the vandals who destroy.

Gabriel Boric and the Communist Party have said themselves that they want instability for our country, and that they want to continue on the path of hatred, intolerance, and destruction.

This must end,

 ”he says at the microphone of

our correspondent in Santiago

,

Justine Fontaine

.

" 

Painful result

 "

He is followed by

Gabriel Boric

(25.71% of the vote), the former student leader, figure of this new left which wants to satisfy the demands for social justice expressed since the great mobilizations of 2019: " 

We are going to carry out the transformations. structural structures we aspire to put an end to the unjust system of pension funds, and for a fair and dignified health system

 , ”he says. His movement made an important breakthrough in the Chamber of Deputies as well. But, faced with the unexpected score of the far right, the supporters of the former student leader do not hide their concern at the publication of the results of the first round: for Sebastian (34), " 

it is a painful result given the historical process that we are going through in Chile. It is contradictory that the far right obtained such a high result. However, the fact that we are here, the supporters of Gabriel Boric, opens the hope of reversing the trend to push with ardor the changes that Chilean society deserves 

”. For her part, Alexandra (19) says she feels that this country needs change, and “ 

Gabriel Boric embodies this change. When you live in an economic system like this, your candidacy is a sustainable alternative and with an intersectional and valuable perspective

 ”.

For the quadra Patricio, it is still “

 worrying that the representative of fascism, the heir to the Pinochet dictatorship, who said a few weeks ago that he had led a good government and that had arrested no one under his regime.

But I trust the voters who voted for the Democratic candidates like Artés, Marco Enrique Ominami or Yasna Provoste so that they understand that one cannot have a fascist like Kast in the presidential palace of La Moneda.

So hopefully those votes will go to Gabriel Boric on December 19 in the second round because he represents change in society

.

"

And now the second round

Faced with his supporters, Gabriel Boric, an ally of the Communist Party, insisted on the need to unite beyond the circles of the militant left.

He received the support of the progressive candidate Marco Enriquez Ominami, but it is not yet known whether he will be able to count on the explicit support of the centrist Yasna Provoste, former minister of Michelle Bachelet.

One candidate created a surprise: Franco Parisi who campaigned his entire campaign from the United States, without even going to Chile because of problems with the justice system.

With nearly 13% of the vote, his support for one or the other of the candidates could weigh heavily.

►

See also: Elections in Chile: an election that promises to be indecisive but crucial for the country

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