News Analysis: Chile opts for economic development under Pinera

SANTIAGO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chilean voters on Sunday elected Sebastian Pinera, a conservative billionaire and former president who campaigned under the promise of economic growth and stability, to be the country's next president.

Pinera's election to a second term indicates many Chileans are more concerned about strengthening the economy than expanding social programs under his center-left rival Alejandro Guillier, who pledged continuation of the progressive policies of outgoing President Michelle Bachelet.

Chileans have become frustrated by the performance of Bachelet's administration amid declining international prices for copper, which has led to sluggish economic growth in the world's largest copper producer.

The female president further upset her people by not having fulfilled her labor and education reforms, something Guillier had vowed to carry on.

"Many people were unhappy with the current president and I suspect Guillier's gamble failed to pay off in that respect," said Alejandro Olivares, a scholar at Public Affairs Institute of the University of Chile.

Sunday's runoff saw Pinera win 54.6 percent of the vote to 45.4 percent for Guillier, a commanding lead contradicting previous polls that suggested a much narrower gap between the two contenders.

During his second presidential term, Pinera, who was the country's president from 2010 to 2014, is expected to sign bills to decriminalize abortion in certain cases and legalize same-sex marriage.

The president-elect has said he wants to lower corporate taxes to boost investment, which has languished to a certain degree under Bachelet.

However, Pinera will face the challenge of working with a Congress where no political group commands a majority.

"Pinera doesn't have the votes to promote such large-scale pro-business reforms. He will additionally come up against strong opposition in social matters. Chilean society wants a balance between the social and the economic," Olivares said.

Meanwhile, the expert said Pinera's reelection showed the "organizational weakness" of the country's leftists.

Beatriz Sanches, candidate of the newly emerged progressive Broad Front party, garnered 20 percent of the vote in the first round, trailing Pinera's 36 percent and Guillier's 22 percent.

Olivares said the emergence of Broad Front has thrown the left -- which he said has "huge problems of cohesion" -- into disarray.

Although observers believe Sanchez's supporters may line up with Guillier, unity within the left bloc remains a difficult task as the Broad Front advocates randical changes and is very critical of Bachelet's left-wing New Majority coalition, according to Olivares.

In addition, another reason that Broad Front didn't form a unifying coalition with Guillier was that it was comparatively easer to be an opposition to Pinera, Olivares added.

As for Guillier, his decision to present himself as Bachlete's successor rather than an independent reformer reduced his chances of winning, Olivares said. Enditem