Six days away from voting in the second round, the two candidates for the Presidency of Chile met for the final debate of the election on Monday night (13). The meeting between leftist Gabriel Boric and ultra-rightist José Antonio Kast was full of interruptions and exchanges of barbs, but with a much less aggressive tone than the previous one.
In one of the few moments of greatest friction, Kast suggested that the two get tested for recent drug use. Boric responded by pulling out a test held in November and stated: “I knew you were going to talk about it again, so I’ve already come up with the result, because I don’t want to be part of a show.”
The leftist said he was in favor of allowing the cultivation of marijuana for his own use, but not of legalizing drugs. Kast countered. “The so-called soft drugs are a gateway for the harder ones, it is not convenient to open the door for drug use,” he said.
In another moment of more intense exchange of barbs, while Gabriel Boric emphasized the fact that he represented a “Social Democratic” candidacy, the rival replied that “no clothes are changed” — suggesting that he maintains his values without making too many concessions to allies .
The leftist deputy also asked what Kast meant by “gay dictatorship”, when the subject was the legalization of equal marriage in the country, recently approved by Congress.
The ultra-rightist said he was not against the text, but reinforced that he considered “an absurd” that the Palacio de La Moneda (seat of the Chilean Executive) had been lit up with rainbow colors after approval, in a form of celebration — the current President Sebastián Piñera, after failing to stimulate debate in his first term, has become a supporter of his predecessor’s project, Michelle Bachelet.
“The colors and the flag that must be in Chile’s public buildings must always be that of our country,” said Kast.
The two postulants also disagreed about Social Security, one of the main reasons why Chileans took to the streets in demonstrations in 2019.
While Boric advocated reforming the pension system with the establishment of “a non-profit institution in the administration”, Kast replied that he would not trust “a public entity that can manage it and maintain profitability”.
About acts of vandalism in public protests, frequent in the last three years in the country, the ultra-rightist stated that, with him in the Presidency, the police would act in accordance with the law if they occurred. He took the opportunity to mock the rival’s reply.
When Boric stated that he was against violent attitudes by protesters and that he would act firmly if he were in the post, he heard: “I think a new debate will be needed, between the old Boric and the new one, because the current one is increasingly similar with me”.
The debate had at least one point of convergence: support for the current government’s vaccination policy against Covid. Chile leads the ranking of Latin American countries with the largest share of the population fully immunized (over 84%) — the campaign can be considered the greatest legacy of Piñera, who ends his term with 20% popular approval, worn out by accusations of corruption and protests.
“I am in favor of a fourth dose and the health passport”, said Kast, while Boric defended the maintenance “of what has been a success in the current government”. The right-wing candidate, however, took advantage of the theme to question the quarantine periods imposed by the president to curb the spread of the virus — which, in his view, “has damaged many businesses and tourism”.
Boric confirmed that he had met with former centre-left president Michelle Bachelet, who is in Chile for the elections. He placed her alongside the socialist Ricardo Lagos as the ones he most admires among those who held office in the country. Both were part of the so-called Concertación, a coalition that governed Chile for two decades and of which Boric was critical even before the elections.
Now, the leftist has said that he intends to integrate into his government names from the Christian Democratic and Socialist parties, which have declared support for his bill. Kast again criticized him for going back on his principles. “How many times are you going to apologize and step back? Who are you, Gabriel?” he asked.
One of the mediators recalled that the rightist had said he would end the Ministry of Women, but that, after being pressured by government candidate Sebastián Sichel —who was fourth in the first round—, he backed down. The movement took place precisely so that he would receive the support of the center-rightist.
Boric also criticized “disseminated false news” by the rival, citing an accusation, made by Kast in the last debate, of alleged sexual harassment. The case refers to episodes that would have occurred in 2012, when Boric was president of the Federation of Students of the University of Chile and was accused of directing “lewd looks” and making “sexist comments”.
The leftist apologized on Monday to the woman, who remained anonymous but, in a series of Twitter posts, criticized Kast for using her story in the campaign. The woman also stated that she will vote for Boric.
According to the latest Cadem survey, Boric leads the race with 40% of voting intentions, against 35% for Kast, while 25% say they are undecided. In these last days of the campaign, Chile’s electoral law prohibits the dissemination of electoral surveys.
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