Whoever wins will break the precedent. Since the return to democracy three decades ago, no candidate leading after the first round has ever been beaten in the second round. But no president has ever been elected without winning in the capital, Santiago, which Boric comfortably won in the first round.

Opinion polls over the past few days have consistently shown an advantage for Boric, albeit at times within the margin or error, meaning the contest is likely to be decided by the candidate who is able to energize his base while at the same time at the same time winning the majority of voters who do not side with political extremes.

“Participation will mean everything,” said Robert Funk, a political scientist at the University of Chile.

The two candidates could not be more opposed.

Kast, 55, a devout Roman Catholic and father of nine, emerged from the far-right fringe after winning less than 8% of the vote in 2017. He rose steadily in the polls this time with a divisive speech highlighting emphasizing conservative family values ​​and playing on Chilean fears that increased migration – from Haiti and Venezuela – could lead to crime.

A longtime lawmaker, he’s used to attacking Chile’s LGBTQ community and advocating for more restrictive abortion laws. He also accused outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, a conservative colleague, of betraying the economic legacy of General Augusto Pinochet, the country’s former military leader. Kast’s brother, Miguel, was one of Pinochet’s best advisers.

Boric, 35, would become Chile’s youngest modern president. He was one of several activists elected to Congress in 2014 after leading protests for better education. If elected, he said, he will “bury” the neoliberal economic model left by Pinochet and raise taxes on the “super rich” to develop social services, fight inequality and strengthen protection of the environment.

In recent days, the two candidates have tried to turn towards the center.

“I am not an extremist. … I don’t feel quite right, ”Kast proclaimed in the home stretch even as he was chased by revelations that his German-born father had been a full member of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party. .

Meanwhile, Boric, who is backed by a coalition of left-wing parties that includes the Chilean Communist Party, has recruited more centrist advisers to his squad and has promised any changes will be gradual and fiscally responsible.

“People on both sides are voting out of fear,” Funk said. Neither side is particularly excited about his candidate, but they vote for fear that if Kast wins there will be an authoritarian regression or because they fear Boric is too young, inexperienced and aligned with the Communists. “

Whoever wins is likely to have a slim term and be surrounded by a divided Congress.

Additionally, political rules may soon change as a newly elected convention rewrites the country’s constitution during Pinochet’s day. The convention – the most powerful elected institution in the country – could in theory call new presidential elections when it completes its work next year and if the new charter is ratified in a plebiscite.

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Associated Press writer Patricia Luna reported in Santiago and AP writer Joshua Goodman reported in Miami.