Chile Can’t Afford a Swerve Into Radicalism
Leftist Gabriel Boric has won the most polarized Chilean election in decades by edging toward the center. To govern, he’ll need a heavier dose of moderation.
Meet the new boss.
Photographer: Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images
Former student activist Gabriel Boric has won Chile’s most contentious presidential race since its return to democracy. He’s the youngest president-elect to date and the most liberal since Salvador Allende in 1970. The 35-year-old progressive must now incontrovertibly jettison his radical early rhetoric, even at the expense of displeasing his firebrand allies. Without pragmatism and a wide coalition, he has little hope of governing, let alone tackling the deep social and economic grievances that brought him to power.
Boric has already gotten off to a better start than others in the region this year. His ultraconservative opponent, José Antonio Kast — a man who defended dictator Augusto Pinochet’s legacy and portrayed himself as a firm hand on crime and immigration — rapidly conceded and promised “constructive collaboration.” That’s good news for a democracy still grappling with the divisions laid bare by street protests in 2019. It helps that Boric won with a decisive 56% of the vote in Sunday’s runoff, and with the most impressive turnout since voting became voluntary in 2012.