Santiago, Chile — Far-right politician Jose Antonio Kast won Chile’s presidential runoff on December 15, becoming the country’s 38th president and ending more than a decade of centre-left rule, media reports said.
Preliminary results showed Kast defeating Jeannette Jara, the former labour minister and Communist Party figure who ran for the governing Unity for Chile coalition. Jara conceded soon after polls closed and posted on X acknowledging the democratic outcome. She said she had contacted the president-elect to wish him success and told supporters the campaign would continue working for a better future: “Democracy spoke loud and clear. I just communicated with the President-elect, Jose Antonio Kast, to wish him success for the good of Chile… we will continue working to advance a better life in our homeland.”
Observers noted Kast’s victory as part of a broader rightward shift in the region, following conservative wins in countries such as Argentina and Ecuador.
At 59, Kast leads the Republican Party and secured the presidency on his third bid. He previously lost the 2021 contest to outgoing President Gabriel Boric by nearly 10 percentage points. Boric, who was Chile’s youngest president when elected, saw approval ratings fall to around 30 percent by the end of his term and was ineligible to run again.
Campaigning around concerns over rising crime, immigration and a slowing economy helped propel Kast to victory. His security platform, billed as the “Implacable Plan,” promised strict measures including mass deportations, tougher sentencing and isolating cartel leaders in maximum-security facilities as part of a broader crackdown on crime.
Kast holds conservative positions on social and health issues, including opposition to abortion even in cases of rape. Critics have highlighted his past praise for former dictator Augusto Pinochet — Kast once said, “If he were alive, he would vote for me” — and raised questions about his family background, including reports about his father Michael Martin Kast’s alleged former Nazi Party membership and subsequent emigration to Chile in 1950.
Media accounts described the result as a historic moment for Chile’s far right, marking the first conservative government since the return to democracy in 1990. While Kast softened some positions during the campaign to broaden his appeal, his ties to Pinochet’s legacy and hardline proposals have prompted debate over how far his conservative agenda will go in practice.
This report is based on syndicated news coverage and media reports.
