Elections in Chile

The first round of Chile’s 2021 general election took place on 21 November. Gabriel Boric, candidate for the leftist Apruebo Dignidad coalition, and José Antonio Kast from the right-wing Frente Social Cristiano, ran a close first-round race, with Kast taking a narrow lead. The pair will face a run-off in December to decide Chile's next President.

Boric and Kast were followed by Franco Parisi for the Partido de la Gente, Sebastián Sichel for the centre-right Chile Podemos Más coalition (formerly Chile Vamos, led by President Sebastián Piñera), and other candidates including Yasna Provoste from the Nuevo Pacto Social coalition.

This election comes after a period of significant social unrest in Chile in recent years; amidst the ongoing economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic; and at the midpoint of a process of major constitutional reform. All this leaves Chile in an uncertain position.

Canning House is pleased to host a discussion of the election’s first round results, looking ahead at what the results could mean for Chile.

Speakers

Paula Garda

Economist, Chile/Colombia desk, OECD-OCDE

Paula is an Uruguayan national with a PhD in Economics from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. At the OECD-OCDE, she works as an Economist at the Argentina/Chile/Colombia desk in the Economics Department, having also previously worked with Costa Rica and Italy, as well as a researcher in public economics. Prior to her current role, she was a researcher at the Centro de Investigaciones Económicas (Cinve) and Professor at the national university in Uruguay.

John Bartlett

Journalist, Writer, and Latin Americanist

John Bartlett studied Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Bristol and holds a masters in Latin American Studies from the University of Oxford. John is a freelance correspondent for The Guardian in Chile and covers South America for The Times. He has written on Chilean politics for the New York Times, Washington Post, The Economist, and several other print and online magazines.

Carla Selman

Principal Latin America Analyst / Deputy Head, Latin America Country Risk, IHS Markit

Carla Selman studied Journalism and Mass Communication in Chile and holds two masters in Geopolitics and International Relations from Sciences-Po Toulouse and in Global Politics from LSE. Currently, she is a Principal Research Analyst and Deputy Head of Latin America Country Risk at IHS Markit where she covers the political, business and security environment in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Haiti. She has experience working in various countries such as Chile, France, and United Kingdom.

Questions?

Please contact us with any questions about this event.