SANTIAGO (Realist English). Jose Antonio Kast has won Chile’s presidential election, riding voter anxiety over rising crime and irregular migration to deliver the country’s most pronounced shift to the right since the end of military rule in 1990.
In Sunday’s runoff, Kast took 58% of the vote, defeating left-wing candidate Jeannette Jara, who secured 42% and promptly conceded. The result caps Kast’s third presidential bid and his second appearance in a runoff, after losing to leftist President Gabriel Boric in 2021.
Long regarded as a political hardliner, Kast campaigned on proposals to tighten border controls, deploy the military in high-crime areas and deport migrants residing in the country illegally. Once seen by many voters as too extreme, he gained broader support as public concern intensified over security and migration.
His decisive margin — including gains in traditionally left-leaning regions — was also shaped by voter resistance to Jara, whose Communist Party affiliation alienated parts of the political center, according to analysts.
Kast’s victory places Chile alongside a wider regional trend, joining recent right-wing wins in Ecuador, El Salvador and Argentina. Financial markets reacted positively, with expectations of lower regulation and more market-friendly policies lifting Chilean assets in early trading.
However, Kast is set to govern with limited room for maneuver. Congress remains split, with the Senate evenly divided between left and right and the lower house fragmented, meaning his more radical proposals are likely to face resistance. Analysts say the new president will need to balance his core agenda with the realities of coalition politics and a broad, ideologically diverse electorate.
