Presidential Election

     Thanks to the Communists, a Socialist has won the Chilean presidential elections by a narrow margin. This analysis by Carlos López shows that he is not entirely pleased with the results:
     "Last week you mentioned how difficult it is for Democracy to elect presidents. The results of the Chilean election last Sunday, confirm your point. Socialist Ricardo Lagos won with 51.32% of the vote. His opponent, Joaquin Lavin, received 48.68% of the vote. Last December they had a tie 47.96 for Lagos, 47.51 for Lavin. So, where did the 2% advantage that gave the Presidency to Lagos come from? Not difficult to see, Gladys Marin, the Communist candidate, had 3% of the total vote last December. Those were the votes that won it for the Socialist candidate. It is interesting that Lagos never approached Marin and she never offered the vote. Still, a small but disciplined group, commanding a bare 3% of the total electorate, held the decisive power. Will the Communist try to capitalize on their success? I doubt it. Lagos never asked for their support and in the last two days, he has asked the cooperation of all Chileans and Lavin has pledged his. One thing is clear, the Chilean electorate sent a strong message to the Concertacion that governs Chile: 48% voted for a change.

Ronald Hilton - 1/18/00