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Ballot in Chile: skepticism, division and the resignation of voting for the lesser evil

The Mapocho River flows roughly under the Cal y Canto bridge, a few minutes from downtown Santiago de Chile. The street smells of urine, fresh fruits, fried chicken and sweat. It is 10 in the morning and the sun is already displaying its fury.

The traffic is loaded on La Paz and Santa María avenues, in the Recoleta commune. Music ranging from Elvis Presley to some Central American rapper plays from the street vendors’ stalls. Under different colored umbrellas, underwear, Christmas decorations, strawberries, cherries, watermelons and cell phone chargers are sold.

One woman loudly offers a product to kill cockroaches and another sells fresh chickens for 6,000 Chilean pesos (about $ 7.5), or 5,000 for the smallest.

In the midst of this unstoppable bustle, it appears the division that exists among Chileans in the face of the presidential elections this Sunday, which are looming close after a particularly aggressive campaign.

The disappointment of those who are not going to vote because they do not believe in politicians, the resignation of those who are going to choose “the lesser evil” and the conviction of some who are committed to change.

Followers of José Antonio Kast, at the campaign closing ceremony, this Thursday in Santiago de Chile. Photo: BLOOMBERG

The polarization that was seen in the campaign for the first round, in November, is now being repeated with more virulence. The two candidates vying for the seat of the Palacio de La Moneda are at the two ends of the political arc.

José Antonio Kast, a 55-year-old lawyer with a strong Catholic faith and the father of nine children, represents the ultra-conservative right: economic neoliberal, he opposes abortion and equal marriage.

Gabriel Boric, 35, former student leader, current deputy, is the face of those who took to the streets en masse in October 2019 to demand profound reforms in health, education, pensions and social rights, to end the inequalities that drag this country since the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Gabriel Boric, candidate of a left-wing alliance that includes the Communist Party.  Photo: BLOOMBERG

Gabriel Boric, candidate of a left-wing alliance that includes the Communist Party. Photo: BLOOMBERG

The voices in the street

The Tirso de Molina Market, very close to the Central Market and the great La Vega fair, is already busy. The stalls selling cheeses, cold cuts and sausages, those with natural juices and, especially, those with fruits, sell almost without pause.

Here the prices are much lower than in the supermarkets, although some stalls complain that street vendors, outside doors, can offer the same products cheaper even because they do not have to pay for their stores.

There are flags of Peru and Venezuela in some stands. Some of the stalls come from those countries. There are also several from Chile.

Miriam Sepúlveda offers a kilo of strawberries – big, very red – at 1,000 pesos per kilo, like almost all the other stalls. The grapes are more expensive, but he ensures that they are sweet and the white ones do not have seeds. About to turn 60, he says that he has been working in this market for almost three decades. And it will be there all weekend, as always.

chili

-Are you going to vote? He asks Clarion. In Chile, voting is not compulsory, which is why in the first round, on November 21, only 47% of the electoral roll participated.

-No … for what. Whoever comes out as president is going to bring the country down, he says.

“Gabriel Boric I don’t like, it’s a screen. If he wins, the communists will rule. But if José Antonio Kast wins, he will protect the rich and the situation will not improve anything for us ”, predicts Miriam.

Crossing the central corridor, in another position, David Araya is going to go to the dark room. “I’m going to vote for Kast,” says this 55-year-old man, who inherited the place that his parents managed since the market opened “when the tram passed by,” he recalls, pointing to the street.

“In 30 years of democracy, politicians did nothing for the people. I’m tired of the lies They are not going to increase salaries nor are they going to improve our situation ”, he is indignant.

-And why does Kast generate more confidence in you ?, inquired this envoy.

-I don’t know … But I don’t believe in the promises of the other candidate.

María José Nieto joins the conversation while shopping for tomatoes and onions. “Here they are fresher, they come directly from the producers,” he explains.

Nurse, 30 years old, she also has her vote decided. “I am going to vote for Boric. Kast represents fascism. It is a threat that is very present, “he says.

Francisco, wearing a mask with the Superman symbol, agrees. He is 38 years old and works in computer science. “It is the choice of the lesser evil. But Boric is closer to what we want for the country. Kast would be going back to the past ”, he concludes.

Santiago, special envoy

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