SANTIAGO, 15 Dec. - (ANA) - Chile’s conservative former lawmaker José Antonio Kast secured a victory in the presidential election on 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.

 

Mr Kast’s supporters erupted into cheers in the street, shouting his name and honking horns, some wore red caps with ‘Make Chile Great Again’ written on it.

 

“Democracy spoke loud and clear,” Jara, who served as labour minister in the centre-left government of President Gabriel Boric, wrote on social media.

 

Mr Kast was declared the winner less than two hours after polls closed. His campaign spokesman, Arturo Squella, said that the party feels “very responsible for the tremendous challenge of taking charge of the crises that Chile is going through.”

 

Mr Kast’s victory marks the latest win for the resurgent right in Latin America. He joins Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, and Argentina’s Javier Milei. In October, the election of centrist Rodrigo Paz ended almost two decades of socialist rule in Bolivia. - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/15 December 2025 - - -