Pinochet legacy looms over very tight Chile vote; right-wing billionaire could win presidency

Chileans vote for president with Pinochet in mind

SANTIAGO, Chile — Chile’s presidential election Sunday could come down to a nerve-racking vote-by-vote count after a late surge by former President Eduardo Frei made his race against billionaire Sebastian Pinera too close to predict.

Pinera led every poll until Frei and outgoing President Michelle Bachelet repeatedly invoked the legacy of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, raising fears of a retreat on human rights if Pinera and his right-wing supporters regain the presidency.

“On Sunday with pencil and paper we’ll mark the future of Chile,” Frei said, invoking the catchphrase of the vote that ended the dictatorship decades ago.

The theme shook up the well-organized campaign of Harvard-trained economist Pinera, which had focused on economic growth, jobs and change in a country led by the same group of center-left politicians for 20 years. Pinera accused the government of spreading lies to frighten voters.

With Frei and Pinera agreeing on most issues — a reflection of the remarkable economic, social and political success that has given Bachelet nearly 80 percent approval ratings as she ends her term — human rights became the wild card.

Some polling stations Sunday reported low attendance, an ominous sign for Frei.

Pinera voters included Tatiana Cantillana, a 57-year-old nurse’s aide who hoped a Pinera victory would reduce corruption. “There has to be a change so that they stop stealing,” she said.

Bachelet, herself a torture victim, supported judicial efforts to resolve crimes against humanity, and more than 700 former military and security officials have been put on trial.

But dictatorship-era rights abuses remain a painful topic around Latin America, and societies remain divided over reopening old wounds. Voters in Uruguay decidedly upheld amnesty in November, even as they elected a former rebel as president. Brazil’s amnesty law remains in force, and in Argentina, rights trials have become highly politicized.

Human rights came to the forefront last month when a judge concluded that Frei’s father, a Pinochet critic, had been secretly poisoned to death. Bachelet raised it again by inaugurating Chile’s Museum of Memory less than a week before the vote.

And Frei pressed it hard in Wednesday’s televised debate, forcing Pinera to acknowledge that “part of my sector committed errors” by denying that crimes were happening even as thousands of Pinochet’s opponents were tortured or killed.

The ruling coalition “may have committed errors, but not horrors,” Frei countered, noting that his father’s death would not have been investigated had the amnesty Pinera proposed as a senator been approved.

Pinera said no former Pinochet Cabinet members would serve in his Cabinet, but angry supporters forced him to take back the promise. “Having collaborated loyally and honestly with a government is not a sin or a crime,” he later said.

Pinera’s 15-point lead in December narrowed to 1.8 percent, according to a nationwide poll published Wednesday by the independent firm Market Opinion Research International, which showed him leading by 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent for Frei. But the 3 percentage point error margin made the race anybody’s guess.

Party representatives were preparing to scrutinize the count and challenge questionable ballots. Pinera had lawyers staff a hotline, and Frei’s campaign focused its watchdog efforts on precincts where Pinera had a first-round advantage.

Pinera, 60, put his Ph.D. in economics to use popularizing credit cards in Chile, growing a fortune that now includes a large share of Chile’s main airline, a leading television channel and the country’s most popular soccer team. He said the government has “run out of gas,” and that he would create a million jobs and double the median income of $12,000 a year.

Frei, 67, had a rather unremarkable 1994-2000 term and many leftists preferred the more dynamic Marco Enriquez-Ominami, who came in third last month and tepidly endorsed Frei only last week.

Only 8.3 million of Chile’s nearly 17 million people are registered to vote, and fewer than 760,000 new voters have been added in the last 21 years under a system that makes voting mandatory for life for those who register.

Frei promised to push Enriquez-Ominami’s proposal to make registration automatic and voting optional, but Sunday’s voters were mostly older Chileans with personal memories of the 1973-1990 dictatorship.

Associated Press Writers Eva Vergara and Federico Quilodran contributed to this story.

(This version CORRECTS Removes INcorrect reference to five-year term for Bachelet. ADDS voter reax, Frei’s age, other minor edits to tighten. Polls close about 4 p.m. (1900 GMT; 2 p.m. EST); Chile does not have exit polls, but first results should be released by 6 p.m. and 99 percent of the vote is usually counted by 9 p.m. (0100 GMT; 8 p.m. EST).)