On December 17th, 2017, Chileans headed to the polls and elected former President Sebastián Piñera to take the office of President again.
This election was the second round of the previous first-round election which lead to a face-off between Piñera and Alejandro Guillier, a center-left opponent. Piñera received 54.57% of the vote and Guillier received 45.43% of the vote in an election with a low 49.02% turnout of registered voters.
Piñera is a conservative backed by the Chile Vamos alliance, a center-right coalition in Chile that holds the largest amount of seats in the Chilean legislature as a result of the earlier legislative elections on December 17th. He is a billionaire and managed to achieve this status as a successful businessman.
As president from 2010- 2013 Piñera and his policies brought economic growth to Chile, as he was marred by low approval ratings and looked at as an embarrassment to the country by the opposition. He campaigned to bring back the high growth he achieved in his previous presidency, and polls had him winning by a significant margin for a large portion of the election.
Guillier is a center-left candidate backed by The Force of the Majority alliance. He campaigned on continuing the policies of outgoing Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, another left of center politician. These policies included increased spending on healthcare, pensions, and education. Guillier was a popular news host in Chile before entering politics.
Guillier may have been hurt by a third candidate representing the hard left in Chile. Beatriz Sánchez, representing the Broad Front, a left-wing political coalition in Chile, received 20.32% of the votes in the first round of the election. After losing, she gave a reluctant endorsement to Guillier in opposition to Piñera. Her position in the race may have split the left in the race and disincentivized many Chileans from voting for Guillier.
Piñera employed the campaign strategy of comparing Guillier and the left in Chile to the Maduro administration in Venezuela, an unfair comparison, but effective in practice, convincing more voters weary of authoritarianism to his side.