Along with regional governors, this weekend’s election also included mayors. A lot of municipalities that previously had right-wing tendencies chose left-wing representatives. The right-wing Chile Vamos coalition previously had 22 municipalities and lost eight.
Another big part of this weekend’s election was the mayoral portion of the ticket. Many different municipalities run by right-wing mayors ultimately chose left-wing candidates this go ’round, and past tendencies for selecting candidates famous for being television stars or public figures were not in evidence this weekend.
Some of the elections that stood out the most were:
- In the Municipality of Santiago, where Mayor Felipe Alessandri (National Renovation) lost to Iraci Hassler (Communist Party), who won with 38.6 percent.
- In Maipú, where Kathy Barriga (Independent) lost her re-election to Tomás Vodanovic (Democratic Revolution), who won with 46.8 percent of the votes.
- In Ñuñoa, where Emilia Ríos (Democratic Revolution) won by 31.8 percent, which brings the municipality back to a left-wing mandate after 24 years.
- In Viña del Mar, where Mayor Virginia Reginato (UDI) will be replaced, after 16 years, by Macarena Ripamonti (Democratic Revolution), who won with 38 percent.
- In Las Condes, where Daniela Peñaloza (UDI) won with 39.7 percent of the votes. Peñaloza had the support of current mayor Joaquín Lavín (UDI).
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Re-elected mayors were:
- In Providencia, Evelyn Matthei (UDI) was re-elected with 54.8 percent of the votes. This might affect her decision to pursue the presidency.
- In La Florida, where Mayor Rodolfo Carter (Independent) was re-elected with 58,7 percent.
- In Recoleta, where current Mayor Daniel Jadue (Communist Party) was re-elected with 64 percent. This might affect his decision to pursue the presidency.
- In Valparaíso, Jorge Sharp (Independent) won his re-election with 56 percent.
- In Renca, Claudio Castro (Independent) won by an astounding 92.7 percent.
- In Puente Alto, Germán Codina (National Renovation) was re-elected with 50.7 percent.
A big surprise was the triumph of many independent candidates. Their wins added up to 106 across the country. This was more than double the independent winners in the last municipal election in 2016, when 52 won. Among the municipalities that will now have independent mayors are Antofagasta, Coquimbo, San Miguel, Conchalí, Curacaví, and Pedro Aguirre Cerda.
Javiera is from Santiago de Chile, she is studying journalism at Universidad de Chile, since 2017 and doing her internship at Chile Today.