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Chilean citizens vote Sunday to choose a president.
Intermediate · easy · Sentence 1/34
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1/34
1.
Chilean citizens vote Sunday to choose a president.
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2.
Seven people are competing for the country's top position.
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3.
Public opinion studies show two candidates leading the race: Jose Antonio Kast and Gabriel Boric.
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Kast and Boric are widely considered to hold extreme political positions: Kast as a conservative, Boric as a liberal.
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The vote is the first presidential ballot in Chile since a civil uprising began in 2019 over economic inequality.
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Demonstrations as well as riots took place for months.
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Two years later, an effort to rewrite the country's constitution is in process.
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Chile has been a democracy for more than 30 years following the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
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Generally moderate political parties have led the country.
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Chile has experienced so much economic growth that it is seen as the model to follow in South America.
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Political observers say the decision Sunday could shake that image.
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Nicholas Watson is a Latin American expert with the advisory business Teneo.
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He said the election represents the most important political "shift" since 1990.
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Public opinion studies suggest that neither Kast nor Boric will have enough votes to win the election.
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But they are expecting to win enough to face each other alone in a second part of voting.
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Both represent a new political generation outside the mainstream.
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Parties have long been considered center-left or center-right, meaning they propose moderate policies.
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Boric has said he wants to "bury" Chile's political model.
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Kast, who has praised Pinochet's economic policies, wants to reduce the size of the government and lower taxes.
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In Latin America, Chile stands out.
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World Bank measurements on the rule of law, regulation, governance and political stability in Chile place it as stronger than its big neighbors: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Peru.
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It is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and considered a model of free trade.
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Its economic model is rooted in market policies of Western economists under Pinochet in the 1970s and 80s.
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It has been copied by others.
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They hoped to reproduce Chile's stable economic growth.
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But, critics of the model say that growth was not evenly spread.
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They say it created a few rich business leaders above normal Chileans.
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And they say Chileans have paid high costs for private healthcare and education and receive little retirement pay.
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More mainstream candidates, such as Yasna Provoste on the center-left and Sebastian Sichel on the moderate right have gotten less attention from voters.
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"Chile urgently needs change today," said 37-year-old Luz Vergara, who works for an engineering company in the capital, Santiago.
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She plans to vote for Kast who she said "gives me some security."
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Environmental engineer Romina Aliaga agrees that Chile needs major change but supports Boric, who she said will make improvements.
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The country needs "to move forward and not go backwards on issues such as environmental policies, gender equality, and abortion," the 28-year-old said.
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34.
I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
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