In the 2025 presidential runoff in Chile, José Antonio Kast won by a large margin, getting about 58% of the votes compared to Jeannette Jara’s 42%. This marks the first far-right presidency since the end of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship in 1990. Kast’s campaign got a lot of support even though voting was required, with over 7 million votes cast across the country.
Voters put crime, immigration, and economic problems at the top of their list of concerns under outgoing President Gabriel Boric, whose approval rating fell below 30%. Kast promised harsh actions like mass deportations based on Donald Trump’s ideas and stricter law-and-order policies. Jara, a Communist Party labor minister, represented the center-left coalition but couldn’t consolidate support.
Kast’s victory fits with the gains of right-wing parties in Argentina and Ecuador, which shows that Latin America is moving toward more conservative leadership. Daniel Noboa, the president of Ecuador, called it the start of a “new era” for the area. Kast will face problems in a divided Congress when he takes office on March 11, 2026.
