(Vatican Radio) Chile is poised to hold its Presidential Election on Sunday. Former
President Michelle Bachelet is the front runner, but the number of Candidates might
mean a second round runoff, next month.
Michelle Bachelet, who was Chile's
first woman President between 2006 and 2010, is the Candidate for the left of Center
New Majority. She is basing her Campaign this time around on free education for all.
The last four years have been punctuated by prolonged student protests demanding just
that, so this will be popular with younger voters. She also wants to raise corporate
tax to 25 percent and establish a state-run pension fund.
Her main opponent
is Evelyn Matthei, Candidate for the ruling conservative Alliance Party. A trained
economist, she was Minister of Labor in the current Administration of President Sebastion
Pinera. She argues that free education for all is not currently practically possible,
and this improbably rallying cry is a throwback to the era of the Berlin Wall.
There
are a number of other Candidates, so it is open to debate if Michelle Batchelet would
be able to win outright in the first round of the Election.
This weekend voters
in Chile will decide just that.