It's been 20 years since Pinochet yielded power in Chile, and the vaguely leftist Concertacion has won every presidential election since. I say "vaguely" leftist because, for all their rhetoric, they did not significantly challenge the status quo as established during the dictorship: Chile retained a neo-liberal economy. Nevertheless, I was impressed with how the Concertacion, over the years, managed better than most Latin American countries to hang on to a commitment to some kind of social safety net, how they refused to privatize the state-owned copper industry (which is Chile's international income cash cow), and invested, at least a little, in education.
When I studied there in 1994, the dictatorship was still fresh in people's minds, and yet Pinochet could have received 40% of the vote in an open election — which is to say, he was still popular on the right. Much has changed since then, including the revelations of his financial corruption. Watching Chilean politics from afar, I was often concerned that the Concertacion was turning Chile into one of those "single-party democracies" a la Mexico under the PRI or Japan under the Liberal Democrats. So in some ways, I find Piñera's election reassuring — it means there's some kind of real alternation of power going on.
Chile is very interesting, to me. Aside from having studied there, it's clearly a unique and interesting country from a socioeconomic perspective, over the last 30 years. It has leaped from middling status among Latin American countries to the very top in economic terms: they are the wealthiest country south of the US border in GDP terms, now (except maybe Costa Rica?), and recently joined the OECD, a distinction they share only with Mexico (which joined more because of its proximity to the US and sheer size more than because they really deserved to as a "developed" nation, kind of the way Turkey was allowed to join).
Anyway, I doubt (hope not) Piñera will be changing the social contract significantly. The outgoing president, Bachellet, has implemented some promising reforms in education and civil liberties, helping to cement the Concertacion's "clean-up" of the dregs of the Pinochet era.
Someday, I need to go back. Congratulations, Chile, on a successful, peaceful alternation of power.