A simple vote: "Yes" or "No." It's 1988 and Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet agrees to a referendum under pressure from the international community: if the nation votes "Yes," (rather, "Si") he remains in power, "No" then he leaves and there are new elections. Ad-man René Saavedra (played by the ever popular Gael Garcia Bernal) leads the team campaigning for "No," using the marketing strategies of the American Cola Wars. To complicate matters, his boss Lucho Guzmán (Alfredo Castro) heads the "Yes" team.
Here are the rules: Each night, each side receives 15 minutes of airtime on national television to present its case. The "Yes" gang depicts Pinochet's leadership as an economic success, modernizing the country, introducing microwave ovens in the home -- all now at risk of socialist takeover if the communists of the "No" campaign succeed. Instead of focusing on the Pinochet regime atrocities, Saavedra creates an atmosphere of hope for the future of Chile and against all odds, and much intimidation, they win.
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