Left-wing Gabriel Boric wins heavily polarized Chilean election

With nearly 97 percent of the votes counted, the Chilean National Electoral Service (SERVEL) announced on Sunday evening that left-wing candidate Gabriel Boric has won the presidential elections in Chile – besting the free-market candidate Jose Antonio Kast.

The newly elected Chilean president -- a 35-year-old former student protest leader whose coalition includes the Communist Party -- has promised to move forward with the country’s thirst for reform and supports the move to reform Chile’s prolific private pension fund administrators (AFPs) and the constitution, which is currently being re-written by a constitutional convention. 

After a highly polarized run -- in which Kast bested Boric by two points in the first round – Boric appears to have come out ahead, winning 55.81 percent of the vote compared to Kast’s 44.19 percent.

On Sunday evening, Kast tweeted his concession saying, “I just spoke with Gabriel Boric and congratulated him on his great triumph. As of today he is the President elect of Chile and deserves all our respect and constructive collaboration. Chile always comes first.”

Acabo de hablar con @gabrielboric y lo he felicitado por su gran triunfo. Desde hoy es el Presidente electo de Chile y merece todo nuestro respeto y colaboración constructiva. Chile siempre está primero 🇨🇱✌️ pic.twitter.com/AvpBKs0GFT

— José Antonio Kast Rist 🇨🇱 (@joseantoniokast) December 19, 2021

Both candidates cast their votes early on Sunday morning – and while Boric was convinced of his victory, Kast warned that it would be a “close election” with a margin of difference “below 50,000 votes.”

Chile, a country which was once considered the poster child of the power of free-market reforms, has suffered two years of violent protests and untamed terrorism in the country’s southern regions.  

In a final plea to Chilean voters, Kast promised he would not allow the country to further deteriorate and head down the same path as Cuba or Venezuela, saying “Chile is not and will never be a Marxist or communist country.”

“The left only promotes poverty, the same poverty that has dragged Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, from where people flee because their narco-dictatorships only brings poverty and misery," he added.

Kast also reiterated his pledge to return stability and law and order to the country – promising to take a stand against violence in the south and crime across major cities. “We will recover peace, order, the rule of law – and above all dignity in people’s lives,” he stressed.

Boric, however, promised to continue to push social reforms in Chile and has repeatedly called Kast a dangerous right-wing radical who will “only bring instability, more hate and violence” to Chile.

Acknowledging his victory, Boric said, “Let our people know that I will do my best to rise to this tremendous challenge -- the country gets the best of itself when we unite and I think it is important to respect our republican traditions.”