Concertación Candidate Aylwin prevailed in a political negotiation within the so-called
Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia, which at that time was made up of 17 political movements opposed to the
military dictatorship. However, the process was not simple. The situation of each party was as follows: •
Patricio Aylwin had to prevail within the
Christian Democratic Party (PDC) itself against two other contenders:
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle and
Gabriel Valdés Subercaseaux. It was a controversial process, saturated with accusations, including an episode involving the theft of internal voting records known as "Carmengate" (named as such for the then-address of the headquarters of the PDC, Carmen 8, in
Downtown Santiago). During this process,
Andrés Zaldívar was even proposed as a consensus candidate. Aylwin ultimately secured the support of his party and was proclaimed on February 5. • The
Radical Party put forward its leader
Enrique Silva Cimma, who withdrew his candidacy on June 10 to support Patricio Aylwin. • The
Social Democracy Party put forward the candidacy of the lawyer Eugenio Velasco, who later withdrew his bid and on July 3 announced his support for Aylwin. • The Socialist Party–Almeyda proclaimed Aylwin as its candidate on June 23. The national organization, ideological moderation, and relative weight within the coalition ultimately led the
Christian Democratic Party to determine the presidential candidacy. In this decision, the media prominence of
Patricio Aylwin—when he previously obtained the nomination as spokesperson or “primus inter pares” among the leaders of the Concertación for the 1988 plebiscite—was influential, allowing him to secure the coalition’s backing over alternatives from the moderate left such as
Ricardo Lagos,
Alejandro Hales, and
Enrique Silva Cimma, which were reconsidered toward the end of the process. Aylwin’s nomination as the Concertación’s candidate took place on July 6—having already been proclaimed as their candidate by the Party of the Center Alliance on June 28 and by the
Democratic Socialist Radical Party on July 2, as well as by the
Christian Left on July 4—,while his formal proclamation was held on July 16, 1989, at the
Teatro Caupolicán, a symbol of democratic resistance during the military dictatorship, under the slogan “The people win.”
Democracy and Progress Supporters of
Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship also underwent a lengthy process of deliberation to designate their candidate. The figure of
Hernán Büchi—Minister of Finance and ideologue of the neoliberal reforms reintroduced in Chile after the 1982 crisis—generated sympathy due to his youthful image and his close association with the country’s supposedly successful economic recovery. However, Büchi systematically refused to accept the option of being a candidate and declined to do so in a speech delivered on May 15, 1989, which went down in Chilean political history, as he acknowledged that between his personality and the responsibility being imposed on him there existed a “vital contradiction,” thus renouncing his pre-candidacy.the
Radical Democracy did the same with former senator
Julio Durán Neumann, while the
UDI proclaimed Hernán Büchi despite his refusal. Büchi finally accepted being a candidate on July 11,named him as their nominee under the slogan “Büchi is the man.” On August 10, he received the formal backing of National Renewal, which withdrew the support it had given to Sergio Onofre Jarpa only four days earlier. His campaign “generalissimo” was former Pinochet minister and businessman
Pablo Baraona, who assumed that role for economic coordination and as a member of the coalition’s main party,
National Renewal. In its initial stage, the position was held by
Sebastián Piñera, also a member of
National Renewal, who did not assume that role in the final candidacy.
Francisco Javier Errázuriz Talavera However, the right did not expect a third option to emerge. Businessman
Francisco Javier Errázuriz Talavera carried forward his presidential candidacy outside the political parties. Declaring himself independent, he stated that he had “voted Yes with his heart in the No” in the
1988 plebiscite, and he sought a platform close to the
political center to capture votes. He was supported by the
Liberal Party, the
Chilean Socialist Party (an instrumental party that supported the Yes, and unrelated to the current
Socialist Party), and the
National Advance party, as well as the
National Party and the
Party of the South, all parties with local leadership and limited media reach. The campaign slogan was: “Errázuriz, the opportunity for a dignified Chile,” and his campaign generalissimo was Carlos Concha. • In some media outlets, the Independent National Unity candidacy of television host
Mario Kreutzberger, “Don Francisco,” associated with the philanthropic work of the
Teletón, was proposed. The presenter flatly rejected the possibility. • The leader of the Party of Pensioners, Juan Antonio Torres Araya, was sounded out as a presidential candidate; however, he did not achieve the party’s legalization nor gather the necessary signatures to present his candidacy. == Debate ==