Quest for centrist voters makes for tepid final debate in Chile

SANTIAGO – The last standing presidential candidates in Chile, left-wing Gabriel Boric and far-right José Antonio Kast, had their last face-to-face debate on Monday, six days before voters head to the polls to decide which of the two will become the country’s next president. The encounter showed both men adopting large doses of moderation, gesturing to the voters in the political center who will ultimately decide the dispute. But their care not to say the wrong thing in the final debate left Chileans with more doubts than answers about the future governments of either candidate.

Mr. Boric, for instance, admitted that he doesn’t know “the details” of his pension reform — an existential issue for most voters — but ensured that everyone in Chile will get a raise on their pensions. Meanwhile, when asked for details on his Covid vaccination plans for 2022, Mr. Kast simply told journalists to “ask Paula Daza,” a former Health Undersecretary in the Sebastián Piñera administration who recently joined his campaign. 

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