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Chile鈥檚 presidential race officially has its front-runners after this weekend鈥檚 primary. Former聽President Michelle Bachelet, who was an underground rebel聽against dictator Augusto Pinochet, beat all competition in聽yesterday鈥檚 primary聽to become the candidate for the left-wing Concertaci贸n coalition. Pablo聽Longueira, who was an aide to Mr. Pinochet, was selected as the聽candidate of the right-wing Alianza.

While a growing number of voters weren鈥檛 even born when聽Pinochet turned over power in聽1990, the 17-year dictatorship remains an important聽political reference. Ms. Bachelet campaigned on a聽promise to overhaul Chile鈥檚聽constitution, saying it has locked the country into dictatorship-era聽policies.聽Mr. Longueira campaigned on a familiar conservative platform of tax cuts, aid聽to business,聽and opposition to illegal immigration.

But what at first glance looks like a simple test of Chile鈥檚聽preference for socialism versus capitalism聽is much more complicated. While much聽of South America has experimented with radical changes,聽Chile has steered a聽centrist path since Pinochet. That will most likely persist, says Robert Funk,聽a聽professor of political science at the University of Chile in Santiago.

鈥淏oth need to shift to the center to win the election,鈥� Mr. Funk聽says.

Bachelet went into the primary race facing loud complaints聽from the left, as her administration from聽2006 to 2010 failed to fix an聽educational system widely blamed for deepening Chile鈥檚 gap between聽rich and聽poor. (She left office in 2010, as the country doesn鈥檛 allow immediate聽presidential聽reelection.) She began to advertise her support for a new聽constitution, likely attracting some of the聽discontented masses. But there鈥檚 no聽guarantee she will follow through with a total overhaul.
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鈥淎 new constitution is one way鈥� to fix deep problems, Funk says, 鈥淏ut how? A constituent聽assembly? Reform of present constitution?聽Should it be step by step, changing the electoral system聽and allowing for聽referendums? She is serious that something鈥檚 got to happen, but it鈥檚 not聽entirely聽clear that means going whole hog with a new constitution鈥� in the next聽4-year presidential term, he聽says.

The Pinochet-era constitution includes a collection of聽checks and balances to ensure that radical聽change is impossible. Education聽reformers in particular resent that they have been unable to change聽how schools聽are funded and regulated, because of the system鈥檚 built-in inertia.

Bachelet鈥檚 call for change seems to have struck a chord with Chileans. Of聽the 3 million votes cast in yesterday鈥檚聽primary election, Bachelet received聽more than 1.5 million. She not only easily won a majority of聽the votes for the聽Concertaci贸n, but also got almost twice as many votes as the right-wing聽candidates聽combined. That makes her the candidate to beat in the general聽election on Nov. 17. If no one wins an聽outright majority that day, the top two聽candidates will go to a runoff in December.

Longueira, who joined the race just two months ago to聽replace a candidate tainted by scandal, will聽have to fight hard just to keep聽Bachelet from winning an outright majority. His ads during the聽primary focused聽on his ties to the working class and his call for social justice. His platform聽called聽for cutting the gasoline tax and giving more opportunities to small聽business. He pitches these as聽ways to advance equal opportunity in a country聽where class mobility remains even more limited聽than in the US, and much more so聽than in Europe or Canada, according to a advanced economies.

Longueira now has a choice, observers say. He can stick to his guns and fight Bachelet on principles, or he can leave behind his personal history and embrace the tide of constitutional reform. Manuel Jos茅 Ossandon, vice president of Pi帽era's party, told Radio Cooperativa today that Longueira can win only by supporting constitutional reform.

"If we don't confront these issues and show ourselves to be more open," he said, "They're going to demolish us."