Santiago - Chile yesterday elected its first Socialist Party president since Salvador Allende, who died during General Augusto Pinchet's coup d'etat in 1973. Mr Ricardo Lagos took 51.32 per cent of the vote, beating the right-wing candidate, Mr Joaquin Lavin, who polled 48.68 per cent in a run-off election after an even more closely contested first round last December.
Mr Lagos had been imprisoned under the Pinochet dictatorship, and Mr Lavin had been closely associated with the Pinochet regime. However, both candidates tried to draw a veil over the past and look to the future during their campaigns. Mr Lavin last night conceded defeat and congratulated and embraced Mr Lagos on a balcony as Socialist supporters celebrated on the street below.
While Mr Lagos is a Socialist Party leader, he was representing a broader coalition with the Christian Democrats, the Concertacion, which has governed Chile since Gen. Pinochet stepped down. He is not expected to introduce any radical measures.
His first big challenge will be the probable return to Chile of the former dictator, if Britain decides not to extradite him to Spain. Mr Lagos opposed putting Gen. Pinochet on trial abroad, but has pledged to bring charges against him in Chile.