Center-right candidate puts an end to 20 years of center-left government in Chile

Although memories of Pinochet-era human rights abuses rocked the final weeks of Chile’s presidential campaign, billionaire businessman Sebastian Piñera — a center right politician who voted to put an end to the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile’s 1988 plebiscite — won a convincing 51.6 to 48.4 percent victory over center-left Concertacion coalition candidate Sen. Eduardo Frei on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of sebastian-piñera-presidente-blogspot.com

Piñera won in 10 of Chile’s 15 regions, including most of the nation’s urban areas: Iquique, Valparaiso, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, Concepcion, Temuco and Punta Arenas.  Frei fared best in less populated parts of the country, though not in southern (Patagonia) Aysen, where residents strongly oppose government-supported plans to build a major hydro-electric dam project.