| Chile is pulling out all the stops to tame its worst coronavirus surge with less than a month left before citizens elect members of the body that will rewrite the constitution. Borders are closed, a nightly curfew is in place, and 90% of the population is living under the nation's toughest quarantine measures. While there are exceptions, people in districts with the strictest limits only get two "temporary permits" per week to leave their homes. Anyone caught without one faces a stiff fine. Put together, those and other measures will lead to a "different sanitary situation" by the time people head to the polls May 15-16, according to Health Ministry Undersecretary Paula Daza. At stake is a vote that follows the worst period of social unrest in a generation. The election has already been delayed due to the virus, and there's concern that it may have to be postponed again. The government needs a "plan B" for those elections, Francisca Crispi, who heads the Santiago branch of Chile's main medical professionals association, said in a local television interview earlier this month. While growth in virus cases has stabilized, hospitals are still overwhelmed with patients, she said.  A temporary Covid-19 vaccination clinic inside the Bicentenario Stadium in Santiago, Chile, last month. Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg Some economists are striking a far more optimistic tone. The virus wave is losing strength, restrictions will be lifted soon, and May's elections will likely go ahead as scheduled, according to the financial-services firm LarrainVial. Chile is advancing with one of the world's fastest vaccination campaigns, which has already delivered at least one dose to over 40% of the population. Data suggests the shots are working and should limit virus spread, Sebastian Brown, chief Latin America economist at Deutsche Bank, wrote in an April 20 note. Indeed, total new infections in the seven days through April 21 fell 6.8% from the previous week, the steepest decline since the start of the country's second wave in February, according to a Bloomberg calculation. Meanwhile, on the evening of April 20, Chileans nationwide banged pots and pans and honked their car horns to protest government efforts to block a popular bill allowing early pension withdrawals. It was a stark reminder of the country's latent social discontent, and the importance of the upcoming election.—Matthew Malinowski and Sebastian Boyd | 
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