Chile has elected right-wing hardliner José Antonio Kast as its next president, marking the country’s most significant shift to the right since the end of military rule in 1990.
Kast secured a decisive victory in Sunday’s runoff election, winning 58 per cent of the vote against government-backed leftist candidate Jeannette Jara, who polled 42 per cent and conceded shortly after results were announced.
Throughout his political career, Kast has built his profile as a law-and-order conservative, campaigning on voter anxieties over rising crime and migration. His proposals include building border barriers, deploying the military to crime hotspots and deporting migrants living in the country illegally.
Addressing jubilant supporters at the headquarters of his Republican Party in the affluent Las Condes district of Santiago, Kast promised “real change,” insisting that restoring security was central to democracy and freedom.
“Without security, there is no peace. Without peace, there is no democracy, and without democracy there is no freedom,” he said, while cautioning that reforms would require time and persistence.
Kast’s victory follows a string of right-wing electoral successes across Latin America, including the rise of leaders such as Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Argentina’s Javier Milei. In Bolivia, the election of centrist Rodrigo Paz in October ended nearly two decades of socialist governance.
The win marks Kast’s third presidential bid and his second runoff, after losing to incumbent President Gabriel Boric in 2021. Analysts say growing public concern over crime and immigration broadened his appeal, even in traditionally left-leaning regions.
Political scientist Claudia Heiss of the University of Chile said voter resistance to Jara’s Communist Party affiliation also played a role in Kast’s sweeping victory.
Despite Chile remaining one of Latin America’s safest countries, violent crime has increased in recent years, fuelled by organised criminal networks, porous borders and a surge in migration, particularly from Venezuela.
Markets reacted positively to Kast’s election, with expectations of lower regulation and business-friendly policies boosting the peso and local equities in the world’s top copper producer and a major lithium supplier.
However, Kast is likely to face resistance in Congress, which remains deeply divided. The Senate is evenly split between left and right, while the balance of power in the lower house lies with a populist bloc, potentially limiting the scope of his more controversial reforms.
Analysts say Kast will need to balance ideological commitments with the realities of governing a broad and diverse electoral coalition.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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