Chile's political landscape once again swung back from left to right, after billionaire businessman Sebastian Pinera beat an independent backed by outgoing center-leftist President Michelle Bachelet. The latest swing of the political pendulum came as Pinera, who ran the South American copper giant from 2010-2014, beat Alejandro Guillier, a 64-year-old TV presenter turned senator who ran as an independent backed by Bachelet.
Bachelet and Pinera had tag-teamed the presidency since she first took office in 2006, but the constitution prohibited her from seeking a third term. Pinera, 68, won 54 percent of the vote in Sunday's run-off, a resounding win after a shaky performance in the first round of voting in November. "We have suffered a tough defeat," Guillier said after conceding. He had called for the anti-Pinera opposition to unite after the first round and defend reforms launched by Bachelet, a center-left leader.
Guillier failed, however, to rally far-left supporters who had voted for journalist Beatriz Sanchez in the first round, when she won 20 percent of the vote to his 22 percent. Pinera meanwhile managed to woo an additional 1.4 million voters after his lackluster 37 percent in the first round, as Chileans appeared to have seen him as a safe pair of hands at a time when GDP growth has been sluggish in comparison with previous years. "Pinera's triumph by the margin he achieved was surprising," said political analyst Guillermo Holzmann.
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