Far-right Jose Antonio Kast Elected Chile’s Next President

By Al Mayadeen English

Ultra-conservative Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile’s presidential runoff with 58.16% of the vote, pledging hardline security and migration policies.

Ultra-conservative former congressman Jose Antonio Kast has been elected Chile’s next president after securing a decisive victory in Sunday’s runoff election.

With more than 99% of polling stations counted, Kast won 58.16% of the vote, defeating leftist candidate Jeannette Jara, a former labor minister under outgoing President Gabriel Boric, who garnered 41.84%, according to official results.

Kast’s victory marks a significant rightward turn in Chilean politics and follows years of mounting public concern over security, crime, and migration, despite Chile remaining among the safest countries in Latin America.

Campaign centred on security and migration

The president-elect, a staunch social conservative and vocal admirer of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, built his campaign around promises to restore order and expel undocumented migrants. The son of a former Nazi party member, Kast is also known for his opposition to abortion, even in rape cases, and same-sex marriage.

Addressing supporters after a lengthy wait on election night, Kast declared, "Here, no individual won, no party won – Chile won, and hope won."

"The hope of living without fear, that fear that torments families," he explained.

Over the past decade, Chile’s migrant population has doubled, driven largely by an influx of around 700,000 Venezuelans. Kast repeatedly framed migration as the main driver of rising insecurity, issuing an ultimatum during the campaign to roughly 330,000 undocumented migrants to leave the country before he takes office on March 11, or face expulsion “with only the clothes on their backs.”

In his victory speech, Kast vowed his government would show “great firmness” in confronting crime and disorder. “When we tell an irregular migrant that they are breaking the law and must leave our country if they ever want the chance to return, we mean it,” he stated.

Hardline policies and regional reactions

Kast’s platform includes Trump-inspired proposals to construct detention centres, fortified border barriers, and expanded military deployments along Chile’s northern borders with Peru and Bolivia.

This was Kast’s third presidential bid, after losing to Boric in the 2021 runoff. In a televised phone call, Boric congratulated Kast on "a clear victory" and invited him to La Moneda Palace to begin the transition. Boric remarked that Kast would come to understand "the loneliness of power" and the difficulty of governing.

Jara conceded the race, pledging to lead a "constructive" opposition while condemning "any hint of violence, wherever it comes from."

International reactions were swift. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Kast, saying Washington was confident Chile would advance shared priorities, including "strengthening public security" and "ending illegal immigration."

Argentina’s far-right President Javier Milei hailed Kast as a “friend,” celebrating the result as a victory against “21st-century socialism.” Additionally, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva offered congratulations, emphasizing cooperation and Latin America’s status as a “zone of peace.”

Challenges ahead in Congress

Despite his sweeping presidential win, Kast will not command an outright majority in either chamber of Congress, even with support from all rightwing parties, potentially complicating his legislative agenda.

He has pledged to cut $6 billion in public spending within 18 months, though details remain unclear. Political scientist Rossana Castiglioni of Universidad Diego Portales said uncertainty surrounds Kast’s economic plans, while his security agenda is far more defined.

“Where there is far less uncertainty is on security policy, because that has been his workhorse throughout the campaign,” she noted.