Chile Votes: Out with the old in with the...?

The sleepy run-off between two sexagenarians has failed to elicit much interest. There are fewer signs in the street and polite applause at campaign events. The center left candidate, Eduardo Frei, was an unpopular former president and the conservative Sebastian Pinera's incredible wealth and ties to the Pinochet regime leave him with little in common with the Chilean people. If Pinera wins, it will be the first time that the Socialist/center-left coalition has lost in the post-Pinochet era. 

The race has predictably tightened since the run-off that featured the elimination of two leftist candidates, notably Marco Enriquez Ominami, who was more bust than Barack. Still, voter registration is extremely low in Chile due to punitive fines that are assessed on those registered who do not vote. Only 9.2% of Chileans between the ages of 18-29 are registered. Polls close unusually early, starting at 2:30pm, so results should be available soon.

Check La Nacion, El Mercurio and  TV Nacional for voting updates.

South America Election Round-Up

It's a busy couple of weeks in South America for politicians running for office. Plenty of hands to shake and speeches to give from sub-par sound systems. Here's a quick look at what's been happening across the continent:

Uruguay voted on November 29 to elect Jose Mujica, a former guerrilla leader who was shot at, tortured and imprisoned for 14 years, including two spent at the bottom of a well, while opposing a vicious string of military backed dictatorships in the 70's and 80's. A once strident leftist, he now professes a strong bent towards pragmatism, provided by his 74 years. I'm struck by his age and regret that a generation of progressive leaders throughout Latin America were silenced, killed or generally barred from participating in the "official" power structure of their country for so long by repressive and weak men.

Bolivians reelected Evo Morales by a wide margin on December 6. Morales did surprisingly well in the hotter, lower and more affluent regions of Santa Cruz which have been hostile to his efforts to redraw the constitution and nationalize the petroleum and resource extraction industries in the area. His base of support though still rests in the western, more indigenous departments of La Paz, Oruo, and Cochabamba. We will soon see if and how Morales intends to use this victory to remove term limits and continue to run for president as Chavez, Correa, and Uribe have been doing.

Chile votes on Sunday the 13th. The field of candidates is still crowded and many vote-seekers are presumably siphoning votes away from others. It awaits to be seen if Marco Enriquez Ominami, who is running an insurgent campaign that hits many of the themes Obama campaigned on, can steal a spot in the run-off from former president, Eduardo Frei, though time is running out. It appears certain that the conservative candidate, Sebastian Pinera, will finish first in the this round. 

The nation's battle with its violent legacy emerged into the last minute campaigning this weekend as a judge charged three individuals with the murder of former president, Eduardo Frei Montalva, who is also the father of the candidate Frei. More on Chile in the days to come.

Checking in on Chile's Presidential Campaign

It appears that the Concertacion coalition is in danger of losing its hold on the presidency for the first time since Pinochet ceded power in 1990. Inter-party struggles and a dearth of fresh and exciting candidates led the coalition to throw up Eduardo Frei, Chile's president from 1994-2000, as their candidate. Not as popular, progressive, or interesting as Michelle Bachelet, Frei belongs to the old-guard of the party and has not engendered passion among voters nor does he share progressive policy positions of importance to many Chilenos, such as the legalization of abortion.

Marco Enriquez-Ominami, the independent candidate who broke away from Concertacion, has gained the allegiance of the country's left but has failed to make inroads with many voters who may fault his youth, inexperience, or lack of Concertacion imprimatur. He is still polling in the mid-teens. The front-runner remains the center-right candidate Sebastian Pinera whose lead remains around 5% points over Frei. It may get quite uncomfortable for Ominami to stay in the race if the perception solidifies that he is siphoning votes away from Frei. The election is three months away. Below I have provided links to the websites for all three candidates, I give Frei the highest marks for his hip Euro/Socialist/candid photos of everyday Chilenos design:

1. Sebastian Pinera
2. Eduardo Frei
3. Marco Enriquez Ominami

Presidential Politics, Edicion Chilena

First-term Chilean deputy, Marco Enriquez-Ominami, has seen his campaign for president soar over the last few weeks. At the end of May he was polling at 10%, now polls have him between 20-23%.

Due to Chile's law that no president can serve consecutive terms but are allowed to run after a "time-out", the pool of candidates for La Concertacion, who have ruled since the restoration of democracy in 1990, invariably includes former presidents. This has led to claims that the coalition is stale and lacks for new ideas. Enter Sr. Enriquez-Ominami. He has now left the Partido Socialista, and therefore the coalition, and will run against former President Eduardo Frei and front-runner Sebastian Pinera, media and LAN airline owner.

The December election is still some time off so of course it will be interesting to see if this independent candidate can maintain the momentum or if he falters.