Chile was headed to a tense presidential run-off after a closely fought first-round vote on Sunday set up a showdown between a member of the Communist Party and an ultraconservative veteran politician, sharply polarising the country between the political left and right.
Jeannette Jara, 51, the communist former labour minister and candidate of Chile’s centre-left governing coalition, won 26.8 per cent of valid ballots with almost 100 per cent of the vote counted, failing to pass the 50 per cent threshold to secure victory in the first round.
Jose Antonio Kast, 59, a hard-right former lawmaker and devout Catholic opposed to same-sex marriage and abortion, captured almost 24 per cent of the vote, underscoring the appeal of his law-and-order platform as a surge in organised crime rattles one of Latin America’s safest nations and foments anti-migrant sentiment among Chileans.
After learning he would advance to the next round, Kast urged the country’s fractured right to unite behind him, framing the run-off as an existential struggle for Chile’s future.
“It will be the most important election of our generation, a true referendum between two models of society – the current one that has led Chile to destruction, stagnation, violence and hatred,” he told fans, interrupted by cheers every few seconds. “And our model, which promotes freedom, hope and progress.”
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