Eleven Parties,Two Candidates

This Sunday Chile goes to the polls to choose a successor to late President Pedro Aguirre Cerda, who died last November. The choice will be between two candidates although the eleven top parties have repeatedly suggested candidates, reneged on them, nominated them, withdrawn them, made alliances, broken them, made dozens of public and private deals. Now, however, the pot has simmered down and only two strong candidates are left.

Candidate of the Right is General Carlos Ibanez del Campo. Once (1927-31) a "strong man" President of his country, General Ibanez was exiled, has been trying to make a political comeback since 1937. He entered the campaign as an independent, played his cards so shrewdly that he got the backing of both the old-line rightist parties (Liberals and Conservatives). Though he is also backed by Chile's pee-wee Nazi party, General Ibanez claims he is no totalitarian, merely a strong nationalist.

The compromise candidate of the Left is Juan Antonio Rios, an ambitious, seasoned Radical politico. The Popular Front, which leaked badly during President Aguirre's administration and went to pieces at his death, has been patched up and should carry Rios to victory. A big questionmark, however, is Chile's independent electorate--a full quarter of her voters. Many of them are small businessmen who did not like the last Popular Front administration. If enough of them should swing to Ibanez, neither candidate may get a clear majority since there are one or two splinter party candidates in the field. If this happened, Chile's Congress would have to pick a President.

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