Will Chile Turn Right?

Over the last decade or so, virtually every Latin American country has democratically elected left wing presidents. It's not just extremists like Venezuela's Chavez or Bolivia's Evo Morales. "Liberals" of varying shades control the entire Southern Cone and much of Central America. It sometimes feels like Colombia is the pariah now, much like Cuba was during the Cold War.

Despite Bachelet's popularity (this pediatrician was once a political prisoner during Pinochet's reign), center-left candidate Eduardo Frei may not win the runoff election today against billionaire Sebastian Pinera. The last poll shows the tycoon in the lead, 51-49. If he wins, let's hope he does better at ruling than the other two billionaires-turned-leaders: Thailand's Thaksin Shinawatra and Italy's Silvio Berlusconi.

Here is a piece by Al Jazeera English's Lucia Newman. Remember her reporting from Cuba and other parts of Latin America for CNN? AJE has poached some extraordinarily talented, experienced, and respected journos.