Kast secures win in presidential election

Chile’s ultra-conservative former lawmaker Jose Antonio Kast secured a stunning victory in the presidential election Sunday, defeating the candidate of the centre-left governing coalition and setting the stage for the country’s most right-wing Government in 35 years of democracy.

Kast won 58.2 per cent of the votes as Chileans overwhelmingly embraced his pledge to crack down on increased crime, deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants without legal status and revive the sluggish economy of one of Latin America’s most stable and prosperous nations. His challenger, communist candidate Jeannette Jara, clinched 41.8 per cent of the vote.

She called Kast to concede the election and congratulate him on his successful campaign after his lead became irreversible. Kast’s supporters erupted into cheers in the street, shouting his name and honking horns. “Democracy spoke loud and clear,” Jara, who served as labour minister in the centre-left Government of President Gabriel Boric, wrote on social media. Speaking at a public square in downtown Santiago, Chile’s capital, she encouraged her supporters not to be deterred by the outcome. “It is in defeat that we learn the most,” she said.

Kast was declared the winner less than two hours after polls closed. His campaign spokesman, Arturo Squella, struck a solemn tone, saying that the party feels “very responsible for the tremendous challenge of taking charge of the crises that Chile is going through.” A regional trend gains traction. Chileans are not alone in their demand for radical change. Kast’s election represents the latest in a string of votes that have turfed out incumbent Governments across Latin America.