Chile’s presidential election confirms South America’s far-right turn

For the first time, a supporter of former dictator Augusto Pinochet has been elected president of Chile. Ultraconservative José Antonio Kast won the presidential runoff on Sunday, December 14, securing 58.2% of the vote against left-wing candidate and Communist Party member Jeannette Jara, who received 41.8%.

Kast, 59, carried every region, including Santiago and its traditionally left-leaning suburbs, marking a clear far-right shift in South America.

“Nothing would be possible if we did not have God,” Kast said in a speech to thousands of supporters in the upscale Las Condes neighborhood, calling for unity. Many celebrated what they described as an “escape from communism.”

Political scientist Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser of the Pontifical Catholic University cautioned against interpreting the nearly 20-point margin as broad support for Kast’s agenda.

“In the second round, people often vote for the lesser evil,” he noted, emphasizing that the result does not mean 58% of voters are far-right.

via Le Monde