Elecciones presidenciales en Chile 2021: La generación de la protesta estudiantil llega al gobierno

Abstract

The Chilean presidential and parliamentary elections at the end of 2021 have been the most uncertain, competitive and polarised of the last three decades. These elections were marked by the massive social mobilisations of 2019, the plebiscite to reform the Constitution and the elections of representatives in charge of drafting a new Constitution. In the presidential election, for the first time since the return to democracy, the second round faced two candidates who did not represent traditional parties: Gabriel Boric and José Antonio Kast. Boric ended up winning the elections supported by an alliance of radical left parties and social organisations, joined in the run-off by the traditional Chilean left. In contrast, in the elections for the lower house, the traditional parties regained some of their strength, but with the change of the electoral system to a proportional one, which was implemented in the 2017 elections, new actors were incorporated, which increased fragmentation. This chapter analyses the 2021 Chilean presidential and legislative elections from the perspective of the polarisation of political actors and the continued indifference of citizens to traditional political participation.

Miguel Ángel López

Associate Professor

Associate Professor at the Institute of International Studies at the Universidad de Chile. Research Associate in Training Data Lab, Chile.