ABSTRACT
October 2019 marks 30 years since the first presidential debate in Chile. The fact that the first debate came on the heels of the military dictatorship influenced subsequent debates for years to come. The candidates felt like they owned the debates and designed them to serve their interests, neglecting the audience and the voters. What was their objective? To have a debate without debating; to make them harmless for their candidacy.
The main television stations and media associations validated the process by organising independent presidential debates, offering guarantees to all candidates and political sectors, which helped to normalise the situation and make the debates more democratic.
Today, debates are important landmarks within presidential campaigns. Having an election without at least one debate is unheard of, and this tradition has remained consistent since the 1989 election. And the debates have become better and better. Now they are more professional, both in format and content. They are more incisive and they respond to the new forms of media and audiences without losing their autonomy and citizen-centered outlook. Their organisers have evolved over the last three decades, and sometimes, so have the candidates.
