Gabriel Boric, a 35-year-old upstart progressive from the Social Convergence Party, won a 10-percentage point victory of a far-right candidate who favored the authoritarian rule of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, signaling a strict rejection of conservative ideology in a nation that had seen significant political division, Reuters reports.
With more than 80% of the vote, Boric had 55.52% versus the Republican Party’s Jose Antonio Kast’s 44.48%, a lead which was growing as more votes are counted. Chile’s political Left has been pushing a message that the market-based economic policies and individual choice regarding the coronavirus pandemic have not benefit the majority of the population.
“I just spoke to @gabrielboric and congratulated him on his great success,” Kast said on Twitter. “From today he is the elected President of Chile and he deserves all our respect and constructive collaboration. Chile is always first.”