Ultra-conservative Jose Antonio Kast has secured a decisive victory in Chile’s presidential runoff election, paving the way for the nation’s most right-wing government in 35 years of democratic rule.
With over 95 per cent of votes tallied, Kast garnered more than 58 percent, triumphing over his leftist rival. He is known for his right wing views and has regularly defended and praised former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
His opponent, Communist candidate Jeannette Jara, who served as President Gabriel Boric’s popular labor minister, secured just over 41 percent.
Kast’s campaign resonated with voters through pledges to tackle rising crime, deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants and revitalize the economy of one of Latin America’s most stable and prosperous countries.
Following the results, Jara conceded defeat, stating on social media: “Democracy spoke loud and clear,” and confirmed she had called Kast to congratulate him on his successful campaign.
Kast’s supporters erupted into cheers in the street, shouting his name and honking car horns.
His campaign spokesperson, Arturo Squella, declared victory from the party headquarters in Chile’s capital of Santiago.
“We are very proud of the work we’ve done,” he told reporters. “We feel very responsible for this tremendous challenge of taking charge of the crises that Chile is going through.”
Kast’s election represents the latest in a string of votes that have turfed out incumbent governments across Latin America, vaulting mainly right-wing leaders to power from Argentina to Bolivia.
On the surface, the two candidates in this tense presidential runoff could not have been more different, fundamentally disagreeing on weighty matters of the economy, social issues and the very purpose of government.
A lifelong member of Chile’s Communist Party who pioneered significant social welfare measures in Boric’s government and hails from a working-class family that protested against the 1973-1990 military dictatorship, Jara was a dramatic foil to her rival.
Kast, in contrast, is a devout Catholic and father of nine whose German-born father was a registered member of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party and whose brother served in the dictatorship. He had previously struggled to win over moderate voters in two failed presidential bids.
His moral conservatism, including fierce opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion without exception, had been rejected by many in the increasingly socially liberal country.
The admiration he has expressed for the bloody military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet also sparked widespread condemnation in his campaign against President Boric four years ago.
But in the past few years, fears about uncontrolled migration and organized crime have roiled the country. Enthusiasm for a hardline approach to crime spread, dominating the election and boosting Kast’s law-and-order platform.
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