Joaquín Lavín

Joaquín Lavín Infante (born October 23 1953) is a Chilean politician, member of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party and former mayor of Santiago and Las Condes municipalities of capital Santiago. He was the presidential candidate for the UDI-RN coalition Alliance for Chile in 1999, but lost to PS candidate Ricardo Lagos in a runoff. He is the Chilean right-wing candidate to the 2005 presidential election. He is known for his populist style and his avowed concern for "people's real problems." He is also a supernumerary member of the controversial Opus Dei religious organization.