Chile | Voters face most momentous election in a generation

Chileans go to the polls on November 21, in a polarised election that will decide its full lower house, more than half of the senate, and new president. More than 20% of voters are undecided, according to polls, reflecting the uncertainty facing all the candidates, even the current front-runners.

What you will learn:

• Two favourites have emerged in the first round polls of the presidential race: Jose Antonio Kast, the head of the Republican Party, leading the polls, and leftwing Gabriel Boric. A likely runoff in December will decide between the two.
• The winner will preside over a right-leaning Congress, but under a likely newly drafted left-leaning constitution. Governing, thus, will require consensus building and moderation, a quality neither Kast nor Boric is known for.
• Increased polarisation could lead to another wave of social unrest that, in our view, would scar the winner’s mandate (and the economy) permanently.