Buenos Aires, December 20 (BNA) Chile elected former student leader Gabriel Borek as the country’s new president on Sunday.
The 35-year-old was facing right-wing politician Jose Antonio Cast in the run-off to the country’s top office, German news agency DPA reported.
With 99 percent of the votes counted, Borek received 55.9 percent of the vote, while Caste got 44.1 percent.
Caste said on Twitter he had spoken to his opponent and congratulated him on his “big victory”.
“From today he is the elected president of Chile,” Caste wrote on the social networking site.
About 15 million people are entitled to vote in the South American country.
Borek promised public education and better health care and advocated for the rights of immigrants, indigenous people, and homosexuals.
Cast — a father of nine and a devout Catholic — promised tax cuts, a border wall against illegal immigration, and a firm hand against criminals. He is considered a sympathizer of former dictator Augusto Pinochet.
During the election campaign he said: “If Pinochet were still alive, he would have voted for me.”
For a long time, Chile was considered a shining example in a region marked by poverty, violence, and political turmoil. The country of more than 19 million people has the highest per capita income in South America. Poverty has decreased significantly in recent decades.
But Chile also suffers from rising social inequality. Large parts of the health and education systems have been privatized, and more and more people feel left behind.
Two years ago, thousands took to the streets every day for weeks to demand social reforms and the resignation of President Sebastian Pinera.
MI