Stig Östlund

tisdag, december 21, 2021

Leftist candidate Gabriel Boric has won Chile's presidential election to become the country's youngest ever leader. In what was expected to be a tight race, the 35-year-old former student protest leader defeated his far-right rival José Antonio Kast by 10 points. Mr Boric told supporters he would look after democracy, promising curbs on Chile's neoliberal free market economy. He will lead a country that has been rocked in recent years by mass protests against inequality and corruption. Mr Boric's victory prompted celebrations on the streets of the capital Santiago, with his supporters waving flags and honking car horns. In his speech, Mr Boric said he was taking on the job with humility and a "tremendous sense of responsibility", vowing to "firmly fight against the privileges of a few". Official results gave Mr Boric 56% of the votes against Mr Kast's 44%. Mr Kast conceded defeat barely an hour-and-a-half after polls closed, and with around half of ballots counted. Both candidates offered starkly different visions for the country, and both are outsiders representing political parties that have never been in government

 

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