Communist and far-right candidates contest Chile presidential runoff

Chile’s presidential election will feature a runoff in December between communist and far-right candidates, with Sunday’s first round failing to produce an outright winner.

The campaign has been dominated by crime and immigration, which have grown in the country in recent years, with candidates promising to crack down on foreign gangs such as Venezuela’s Trende Aragua.

Jeannette Jara of the Communist Party from the ruling coalition narrowly won the first round, followed by far-right candidate José Antonio Kast.

The result is expected to boost Castor as Jarrah is the only left-wing candidate running against several right-wing candidates, splitting the right-wing vote.

In the Dec. 14 runoff, voters will have to rally around one of the two candidates.

Castel is expected to receive votes from other candidates who did not make it to the final two, including centre-right senator Evelyn Mattei and radical liberal MP Johannes Kaiser.

If that happens, Chile will become the latest country in Latin America to turn right.

Castor is a conservative lawyer and former congressman who lost the 2021 election to President Gabriel Boric. This is his third run for president.

The father of nine advocates a tough crackdown on immigration, including a Trump-style “border wall,” opposes abortion even in cases of rape, criticizes the environment and indigenous activism, and wants to shrink the country.

His brother served as a minister during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, and his father was a member of the Nazi Party.

Speaking on election night, he said Chile needed to avoid “the continuation of a very bad government. Perhaps the worst government in the history of Chile’s democracy.”

Jarrah is a communist, but many believe she is actually center-left. She was a minister in President Borrick’s government, and her platform included promises to increase lithium production, raise the minimum wage, build new prisons and deploy the military to protect Chile’s borders.

When the results came in, she said: “Our country’s democracy must be looked after and valued. We spent a lot of money to restore it and now it is in danger.”

Both candidates spoke of their commitment to tackling crime and immigration as organized crime and kidnappings increase in the country.

Since 2017, Chile’s foreign population has been increasing. The National Immigration Service stated that in December 2023, the foreign population exceeded 1.9 million. Officials estimate that at least 330,000 people are undocumented immigrants living in the country illegally, many of them from Venezuela.

Castells blames immigrants for the rise in crime, even though some studies show foreign-born people have lower crime rates on average than Chileans.

Chile is considered more prosperous and secure than some other Latin American countries, making it an ideal destination for migrants from the region as well as those returning from the United States following President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Castel promised to build ditches along Chile’s northern border with Peru and Bolivia and to mass deport undocumented immigrants and those who entered the country illegally.

He also promised to build new maximum-security prisons like the ones being built in El Salvador.

Jarrah promised to build new prisons and deport foreigners convicted of drug trafficking.

The election was the first in Chile where all eligible voters were automatically registered to vote, and voting was compulsory.