Why voters in Chile elected a young, leftist president
From www.csmonitor.com
2021-12-19 23:40:45
Patricia Luna and Joshua Goodman
Excerpt:
Leftist Gabriel Boric was elected president of Chile Sunday with 56% of the votes compared to 44% for conservative José Antonio Kast, a free-market firebrand.
Santiago, Chile
A leftist millennial who rose to prominence during anti-government protests was elected Chile’s next president Sunday after a bruising campaign against a free-market firebrand likened to Donald Trump.
With more than 90% of polling stations reporting, Gabriel Boric had 56% of the votes, compared to 44% for his opponent, lawmaker José Antonio Kast.
Kast tweeted a photo of himself on the phone with his opponent congratulating him on his “grand triumph” as supporters of Boric gathered in downtown Santiago to celebrate. Outgoing President Sebastian Pinera held a video conference call with Boric to congratulate him.
“I am going to be the president of all Chileans,” Boric said in the brief televised appearance with Pinera.
Boric, 35, will become Chile’s youngest modern president when he takes office in March. He was among several activists elected to Congress in 2014 after leading protests for higher quality education. On…