Tipping the scales back

18 January 2010 By Martin Hutchinson

Pinera’s presidential victory could signal a return to something like the fullblooded capitalism of the Pinochet years. If authoritarianism and corruption are avoided and growth is strong the Chilean example could help lure other countries away from socialist populism.

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Sebastian Pinera, the centerright candidate of the Alianza por Chile coalition, won the runoff in the Chilean presidential election, beating Eduardo Frei of the ruling Concertacion coalition by 51.6 percent to 48.4 percent.

Pinera, who has a doctorate in economics from Harvard University, was Professor of Economy at the University of Chile from 1971 to 1988. He is part owner of the airline LanChile and owner of the TV station Chilevision. He headed the presidential campaign of Hernan Buchi in 1989.

In December 2009's parliamentary election, the Coalition for Change supporting Pinera won 58 of 120 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, the Concertacion 57 and minor parties 5.

Pinera's electoral platform includes improving Chilean education and returning the country to economic growth rates above 6 percent through tax incentives, labor market reforms and improving the productivity of the stateowned copper company Codelco. "If we do the same things we've been doing for the past 20 years, we'll get the same results," Pinera said at the end of his campaign. "Give us an opportunity to do things better."

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