Billionaire Pinera wins Chile presidential election

[DutchLiberal]

From the BBC:

Conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera has won Chile's presidential run-off, ending two decades of centre-left rule.

Social Democrat Eduardo Frei conceded defeat after results from 60% of polling stations showed Mr Pinera with 52% of the vote to Mr Frei's 48%.

(snip)

Mr Pinera, 60, made his fortune introducing credit cards to Chile.

He now owns a television channel, a stake in Chile's most successful football club and has millions of dollars in investments.


More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8464136.stm

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Reads like a second Berlusconi to me. Why? Will people *ever* learn?

[Downwinder]

1. Strong resemblance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebasti%C3%A1n_Pi%C3%B1era

[DutchLiberal]

2. Didn't expect him to win with President Bachelet backing Frei...

[ChangoLoa]

3. After an incredibly populist campaign

and 20 years of Concertacion, the polls always favored him.

There's one possible positive outcome from this result: maybe Chile will finally have a leftist party again, after 35 years of absence. The alliance between Demo-christians and socialists couldn't last forever anyway. Omi knew that would be the result when he ran as a candidate.

[Braulio]

4. So Chileans voted for a right winger after all

And democracy worked. I wonder, what will happen in Argentina when the Kirchner-Fernandez era ends?