Chile’s presidential election will go to a run-off in December after Sunday’s first round produced no outright winner, setting the stage for a contest between Communist Party candidate Jeannette Jara and far-right contender José Antonio Kast.
The campaign was dominated by crime and immigration, amid growing migration to Chile in recent years, with candidates pledging to crack down on foreign criminal gangs, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.
Jara, from the governing coalition, narrowly led the first round, while Kast followed closely. Analysts say the fragmented right-wing vote in the first round may ultimately benefit Kast in the 14 December run-off, as voters from eliminated candidates—such as centre-right Senator Evelyn Matthei and radical libertarian Congressman Johannes Kaiser—are expected to coalesce around him. A Kast victory would mark another shift to the right in Latin America.
Kast, a conservative lawyer and former congressman, lost the 2021 presidential run-off to President Gabriel Boric and is running for a third time. The father of nine has promoted strict immigration measures, including a Trump-style “border wall,” opposes abortion even in cases of rape, criticises environmental and indigenous activism, and advocates reducing the size of the state. His family ties include a brother who served as a minister under Augusto Pinochet and a father who was a member of the Nazi party. Speaking on election night, Kast said Chile must avoid the “continuity of a very bad government. Perhaps the worst government in the democratic history of Chile.”
Jara, a member of the Communist Party but seen by many as centre-left in practice, previously served as a minister under President Boric. Her platform includes increasing lithium production, raising the minimum wage, building new prisons, and deploying the army to secure Chile’s borders.
Both candidates emphasised crime and immigration in their campaigns, responding to rising organised crime and kidnappings in the country. Chile’s foreign-born population has grown steadily since 2017, exceeding 1.9 million by December 2023, with an estimated 330,000 undocumented migrants, many from Venezuela. Kast has blamed crime on immigration, although studies suggest foreign-born residents commit fewer crimes on average than Chileans.
Kast has pledged to construct ditches along Chile’s northern borders with Peru and Bolivia, mass deportations of undocumented migrants, and new maximum-security prisons modeled after facilities in El Salvador. Jara also promises new prisons and plans to expel foreigners convicted of drug trafficking.
This election marked the first time all eligible voters in Chile were automatically registered, with voting compulsory.
