Friday, February 17, 2017

Chile's Apathetic Presidential Race

Patricio Navia has a nice roundup of the presidential scene in Chile at Latin America Goes Global.

The issue of new/old, which of course is connected to demography is increasingly important in Chile. The dictatorship left power 27 years ago, and a bit more than 35% of the current population was born in 1990 or later. Even notable events like Augusto Pinochet's 1998 arrest in Great Britain is a hazy memory of their youth.

Therefore key members of the political transition like Ricardo Lagos are especially dull choices (Eduardo Frei's 2009 effort to get a second term may well count as the dullest ever). Yet despite the apathy toward and/or dislike of the two main coalitions, Chile still does not face any populist or outsider candidates with any traction. The country seems to be going from an unpopular second-term president (Michelle Bachelet) to an inspiring new president.

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