Leftist former student activist Gabriel Boric has secured a crushing victory to become Chile’s president-elect. The 35-year-old will be the country's youngest president when he takes office March 11.
“Thank you to all of the peoples that live in this place we call Chile,” Boric said on a giant stage erected in the center of the capital, Santiago, to rapturous applause.
Kast called Boric on Sunday to concede defeat and congratulated him on his win. He also met with the president-elect Sunday evening at a hotel in Santiago.Boric will be the country’s youngest president when he takes office March 11, and his victory marks a profound generational shift in Chile. “We are very happy because the hope of our country has triumphed,” said Izkia Siches, the head of Chile’s medical union who joined Boric’s team as campaign leader after his first-round defeat. “Ours will be a government of unity and construction.
“For the future I imagine for Chile, Boric offers a far better program than Kast,” he said after casting his ballot. “If we are going to close the gap on this country’s inequalities, we need a progressive president.”But the country remains relatively divided, and Boric will need to heal the wounds of a bitter campaign.At a polling station in central Santiago, 20-year-old Tamara O’Ryan voted for the first time in a presidential election.
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