(Chile.) Centre-right billionaire Pinera holds slim lead in presidential run-off

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Source: reuters

REUTERS - A conservative billionaire has a paper-thin lead heading into Chile's presidential election on Sunday as he bids to end 20 years of center-left rule, but is wrestling with the ghost of former dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Airline magnate Sebastian Pinera is seen narrowly beating Eduardo Frei, a former president from the leftist bloc that has governed the world's top copper producer since the end of Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship.

A win by Harvard-trained economist Pinera would mark a shift to the right in a region dominated by leftist rulers from Venezuela to Argentina, although no major changes to economic policy are expected whoever wins.

Many Chileans are disenchanted with the ruling center-left "Concertacion" coalition, and say the government could have made better use of billions of dollars in copper boom savings. They are also fed up that an old guard dominates politics.

Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20100117-chile-pinera-frei-billionaire-slim-lead-presidential-runoff-second-round