Updated

Chilean police say they arrested a man for allegedly spitting on presidential candidate Michelle Bachelet during a campaign event in the north of the country.

Local newspaper La Tercera says the unidentified man spat on the former president Tuesday while she waved at sympathizers in the Arica region. Campaign officials say the event continued.

Bachelet is the frontrunner in the Nov. 17 presidential election. She spent the past two years heading the U.N. agency for women after ending her 2006-10 presidency with high popularity ratings.

She vows to use a second term to fight Chile's stubborn income inequality and reform taxes and education.