Conservative hardliner wins Chile’s presidency in election landslide

Hardline conservative José Antonio Kast has won a landslide victory in Chile’s presidential election as concern over crime and immigration propels one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries to the right.

Kast, a former lawmaker who wants to build a barrier on Chile’s northern border and deport undocumented migrants, won 58.2 per cent of the vote with 99.9 per cent of ballots counted, according to the electoral service.

Jeannette Jara, a member of Chile’s Communist party representing the ruling leftwing coalition, conceded defeat after scoring 41.8 per cent of the vote.

Kast will be Chile’s most rightwing president in 35 years of democracy when he takes office in March. He has spent the past decade preaching a severe law and order and anti-immigrant message after splitting from the country’s mainstream conservative bloc in 2016.

“We will work tirelessly to restore peace, order, growth and hope,” Kast said after his victory. “Chile has given us a clear mandate which allows us no excuses.” 

He added that he planned to quit his hard-right Republican party to be “president of all Chileans” and urged his supporters to show “respect” for political opponents.

Kast’s ideas have resonated with many Chileans in recent years as an unprecedented wave of organised crime has shaken the country. Foreign gangs from Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America have settled there for the first time in the wake of the pandemic. 

While Chile remains one of the region’s safest nations, the murder rate has more than doubled since 2015.

Teresa Galarce, a make-up artist in Santiago, said on Sunday that she was “hopeful” a Kast government would be able to improve security. “You watch the news and there’s always someone killed, carjackings,” she said. “That didn’t used to happen here.”

The security crisis has coincided with an influx of immigration from crisis-stricken Venezuela, with the number of undocumented migrants in Chile tripling since 2021 to 330,000. Polls show immigration ranks as voters’ second-biggest concern after security.

Kast has repeatedly warned illegal migrants to exit Chile before he takes office, saying those who do not will be detained and deported.

Earlier this month, neighbouring Peru declared a state of emergency in anticipation of Kast’s statements triggering a migrant crisis, though local media report that border flows have been modest.

As well as his focus on border security and mass deportations, Kast has vowed to crack down on gangs by beefing up security forces and toughening jail sentences and conditions.

He has also promised to slash regulation and taxes to boost economic growth. 

Rightwing parties are close to a majority in both houses of congress, though analysts said some of Kast’s most radical proposals may be watered down, including a pledge to cut $6bn of public spending in 18 months.

Kast, a devout Catholic and father of nine, once campaigned to roll back Chile’s limited legal abortion legislation. He has also praised Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet.

However, he sidelined culture war issues in the campaign, said Robert Funk, an associate professor of political science at the University of Chile. “The country has caught up with Kast’s message, but his message has also caught up with the country to some degree,” he added.

Kast’s election seals a dramatic shift in Chile’s political direction since 2019, when mass protests over the cost of living and anger at elites triggered a national debate over its market-based economic model and two failed efforts to rewrite the constitution.

Outgoing leftwing president Gabriel Boric defeated Kast in a 2021 run-off pledging to pursue radical reforms to combat inequality. His approval ratings have been battered by the crime wave and he has struggled to pass many reforms.

Patricio Navia, a Chilean political analyst, said the result was a bruising defeat for the country’s left and “an indisputable mandate” for Kast.

“But I hope Kast does not think his mandate is to impose radical rightwing views,” he added. “Chileans don’t want more radicalism from the right or the left.”  

Additional reporting by John Bartlett in Santiago