Kast sweeps Chile presidency in decisive far-right comeback

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast has won Chile’s presidential run-off, securing a decisive victory that ends the centre-left coalition’s time in power and marks a major shift in the country’s political direction.

With nearly all ballots counted on Sunday, Kast won 58 percent of the vote, defeating former Labour Minister Jeannette Jara, a Communist Party politician who ran as the candidate of the governing Unity for Chile coalition.

Jara conceded shortly after polls closed.

“Democracy has spoken loud and clear. I have just spoken with President-elect [Kast] to wish him success for the good of Chile,” she wrote on social media.
“To those who supported us and were inspired by our candidacy, rest assured that we will continue working to build a better life in our country.”

Kast, addressing supporters, framed the result as a sweeping endorsement of his platform.

“This is not a personal achievement, nor is it a party achievement,” he said. “Chile won here, with the hope of no longer living in fear, of a Chile that works.”

The result adds Chile to a growing list of Latin American countries where hard-right figures once seen as outsiders have broken through, following similar political shifts in Argentina and Ecuador.

The 59-year-old leader of the Republican Party was running for president for the third time. In 2021, he lost badly to outgoing President Gabriel Boric, who defeated him by nearly 10 points.

But Boric’s popularity steadily eroded over his four-year term, dropping to around 30 percent by the time he left office. Under Chilean law, he was barred from seeking re-election.

Voters heading into this election consistently cited rising crime, increased immigration and economic anxiety as their top concerns. Kast built his campaign around those fears, presenting himself as the candidate of order and control.

He pledged sweeping crackdowns on crime and immigration, including mass deportations, explicitly drawing parallels to policies pursued by US President Donald Trump.

His security platform, known as the “Implacable Plan”, calls for tougher mandatory minimum sentences, expanded use of maximum-security prisons and placing cartel leaders in “total isolation” to cut off communication.

“Today, while criminals and drug traffickers walk freely through the streets, committing crimes and intimidating people, honest Chileans are locked in their homes, paralyzed by fear,” Kast wrote in the plan.

Kast’s platform also reflects his socially conservative Catholic views. He opposes abortion in all circumstances, including cases of rape, a position that has drawn sharp criticism from women’s rights groups.

His candidacy has long been controversial due to his comments about Chile’s former military dictator Augusto Pinochet. After the 1973 coup that overthrew socialist President Salvador Allende, Pinochet ruled until 1990, presiding over widespread torture, disappearances and executions.

Kast has repeatedly defended aspects of that era and rejects being labelled “far right”. He has previously remarked of Pinochet, “If he were alive, he would vote for me.”