Chile: Piñera Wins Presidential Election

SANTIAGO, Chile - With a softening of his rhetoric and nods to the progressive sectors of Chile, conservative former leader Sebastián Piñera (2010-2014) defeated the left-leaning Alejandro Guillier in the run-off vote.

With the votes tallied, Piñera came out the clear winner with 54.5 percent compared to Guillier's 45.4 percent, a margin of victory that was much larger than expected.

What was expected, however, was that Guillier would not be able to consolidate the support of the Chilean center-left and left-wing sectors, which have seen their unified group splinter off into several factions in the last year.

Just over a month ago, Piñera, a billionaire businessman who led Chile from 2010 to 2014 on behalf of the center-right National Renewal, easily claimed the top spot in the first round of voting.

In this election, the conservative coalition Chile Vamos ...