Chilean voters are divided over what they want for the future on the eve of a historic presidential election between two polarized candidates – one offering social change and the other promising law and order.
The election, which takes place this Sunday (19), will put the ultra-conservative face to face Jose Antonio Kast e Gabriel Boric, after the campaigns ended this week, when candidates tried to win the vote of moderates, who could make a difference in a close race.
“What is at stake now is Chile’s own democracy,” said housewife Julia Acevedo, 80, who attended the closing of Boric’s campaign in the capital. “The country needs change and he, who is young, can make a difference.”
Kast supporters, on the other hand, want stability. They say Boric – who criticizes Chile’s liberal economic model for fueling inequality – will undo decades of growth and stability.
“Chile needs stability, order and security,” said Angela Marambio, 53, who said she supported a center-right candidate in the first round in November but will shift her vote to Kast in the second round.
poverty line
Despite being a lawyer, Kast defended the economic legacy of dictator Augusto Pinochet, whose bloody military regime between 1973 and 1990 deposed Salvador Allende in a coup and established the country’s economic model.
Large protests erupted in 2019 against this model, which many see as the reason for problems ranging from low private pensions to high prices for health and education.
Cristian Morales, 51, a public official in Punta Arenas, southern Chile, Boric’s home region, said the left-wing candidate could finally change things.
“I don’t think he will be able to make all the changes that are needed, but it will speed up the process,” Morales said, citing plans for spending on pensions and education.
Boric, who made his name by leading student rallies for better education, sought to channel the energy and demands for change that resulted in the 2019 protests in Chile.
Boric’s supporters say he will champion issues such as women’s rights to abortion — currently allowed only under certain circumstances — and respect sexual diversity, in the spotlight after the country approved same-sex marriage this month.
Kast is critical of both abortion and gay marriage.
“I’m afraid of Kast,” said Andrea Ramírez, a 26-year-old public administrator. “He worries me about the environment, the role of the state, the retirement of Chileans. And what rights will women have?”
Reference: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
