Left-Wing Candidate Boric Edges Ahead in Chile Poll; Peso Falls
Left-Wing Candidate Boric Edges Ahead in Chile Poll; Peso Falls
(Bloomberg) -- Former student protest leader Gabriel Boric edged back into the lead in Chile’s latest opinion poll, though well within the margin of error, pointing to a tight race ahead of November’s election.
Boric obtained 24% of voter intentions, up from 21% in the previous week’s survey, according to a Cadem poll published on Monday. Right-wing candidate Sebastian Sichel placed second with 22%, down from 24% previously.
The poll is contributing to a 1% decline in the Chilean peso against the dollar Monday, the biggest drop in emerging markets. Last week’s survey, which showed Sichel with a narrow lead, triggered a three-day rally in the currency, the biggest such gain in five months.
The presidential contest remains wide open following a period of intense social unrest that’s prompted many people to turn their backs on traditional parties. Both Boric and Sichel are riding momentum after they pulled off upset wins in last month’s primary elections. Going forward, they will compete against the winner of this weekend’s vote between center-left contenders.
Cadem interviewed 704 people nationwide between Aug. 11-13. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
The first round of Chile’s presidential election will be Nov. 21. If needed, a runoff vote will take place in December.
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