Chileans will vote on Sunday in a presidential runoff that pits ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast against former labour minister Jeannette Jara. The contest has been dominated by debate over migration and security, with Kast widely tipped as the favourite.
Kast, 59, a former congressman, has pledged to expel tens of thousands of undocumented migrants and build fortified barriers along Chile’s borders. He is the son of a Nazi party member, an admirer of former dictator Augusto Pinochet and a staunch Catholic opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage. Jara, 51, represents a leftwing coalition and served under current president Gabriel Boric.
In the first round, Jara led with 26.9% of the vote, compared with Kast’s 23.9%. However, rightwing candidates collectively secured more than half of the ballots, giving Kast a strong advantage. Analysts caution that compulsory voting, reinstated for the first time in over a decade, could alter the outcome. Around five million voters who previously abstained are considered unpredictable.
Economist Franco Parisi, who finished third with 20%, appealed to disenchanted voters, particularly young men with little political engagement. He has refused to endorse either candidate, leaving his supporters’ choices uncertain.
Polls suggest Kast has benefited from heightened public concern over crime and migration. Chile’s immigrant population has doubled in the past decade, with around 700,000 Venezuelans arriving amid their country’s economic collapse. Political scientist Claudia Heiss said fears of organised crime have created fertile ground for “iron-fist” policies.
Kast has drawn comparisons with El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele, praising his crackdown on gangs. He has promised detention centres, five-metre-high walls, electric fences and trenches along the northern frontier with Peru and Bolivia. Jara has also pledged tough measures, including five new prisons and the expulsion of immigrants convicted of drug trafficking, while proposing biometric registration for undocumented migrants.
Despite Kast’s admiration for Donald Trump, the US president has not expressed support for him, unlike in other Latin American elections. Kast nonetheless continues to invoke Trump’s policies and rhetoric.
The runoff will determine who leads Chile for the next four years, with security and migration at the centre of the campaign.