Chilean municipal elections

Chile had municipal elections yesterday, which were widely touted as providing clues about the direction of the 2009 presidential election. The Concertación shows clear signs of strain. For example, for mayoral positions, it won 38.43% of the total vote, versus 40.49% for the Alianza (the coalition of the right). It did, though, win 45-39% for city councils (down one point from 2004).

Senator, former president, and once-again presidential aspirant Eduardo Frei argued that the weak showing demonstrated that the Concertación needs to have open primaries for a single candidate. Meanwhile, presidential candidate Sebastián Piñera boldly claimed that if the Alianza won this election, "we think we'll win the presidential elections."

These elections do not tell us much we didn't know before. It is a familiar story--the Concertación is sagging under the weight of 18 years of rule, but the Alianza simply cannot land any sort of political knockout punch. Polls show that, as of now, the election is the Alianza's (and presumably Piñera's) to lose. But a year is a very long time.

Some trivia: Lucía Pinochet, daughter of the dictator, was elected to city council in Vitacura, the richest part of Santiago.