Far-Right Former Lawmaker J.A. Kast Chosen as Chile Incoming Leader.

After a definitive second-round vote, far-right figure José Antonio Kast has won the presidential office in Chile.

A Clear-Cut Win

After more than 99% of ballots counted, Kast secured 58.17% of the vote, defeating leftist contender Jeannette Jara, who obtained 41.83%.

This marks Kast's third bid for the presidency, having earlier been beaten by the sitting president, Gabriel Boric, in the 2021 final vote.

Agenda Focused On Law and Order and Immigration

Noted for his staunch socially conservative views and praise for the rule of former leader Augusto Pinochet, Kast's campaign was primarily centered on promises to combat increasing violence and significantly restrict immigration.

He frequently blamed immigrants, particularly the around 330,000 undocumented individuals in Chile, for public safety problems. During the campaign, he issued an ultimatum for them to leave before the inauguration or face expulsion.

His proposals featured U.S.-style measures such as constructing detention centers, barriers, security fences, and increasing the army presence on the northern frontier.

Amid a Continental Trend

Many analysts interpret Kast's success as fitting into a broader rightward shift in the region, following this year's political results in countries like Ecuador, Bolivia, and Argentina.

However, other experts also frame it as a extension of the established alternation of power between left-wing and right leadership since Chile's establishment of democracy in 1990.

Leading Lacking a Strong Majority

Despite his decisive popular vote win, Kast does not hold an overall majority in the legislature, not in the Chamber of Deputies nor the Senate, even if all rightwing parties are combined together.

This political landscape might challenge his agenda, including a pledge to reduce public spending by a significant sum within a year and a half—a measure for which he has not detailed a clear explanation.

"There are numerous questions about how a Kast presidency will operate that are uncertain because he has not explained how he will implement them," noted a political science analyst.

The analyst added, "In terms of economic policy, it is highly probable we will see adjustment measures associated with the right-wing. But the area with much less ambiguity is on security policy, because that has been his workhorse across the race."