Chile elects far-right José Antonio Castro as next president

Chile has elected far-right José Antonio Castro as its next president after a campaign focused on security, immigration and crime.

Castel ran for president for a third time, decisively defeating Jeanette Jara, the candidate of the ruling Left Alliance, with more than 58% of the vote.

It marks the biggest right-wing shift since the end of Chile’s military dictatorship in 1990. Castel publicly praised Chile’s former right-wing dictator Augusto Pinochet.

“Chile will once again be free from crime, pain and fear,” Castro said in his first address to supporters since being elected president.

“Criminals, criminals – their lives are going to be changed. We’re going to search for them, we’re going to find them, we’re going to try them and then we’re going to lock them up,” he added.

At a gathering of his supporters in the capital Santiago, many draped in Chilean flags, chanted slogans and took selfies, people cheered when the election results were announced.

“I’m happy that we were able to restore security and patriotism to the country,” said Augustina Trancoso, wearing a red “Make Chile Great Again” hat.

“We have been trying to win elections for years,” Belén Valdivieso said. “In Chile, where you used to be able to walk peacefully on the streets, recently we have had problems with insecurity. I hope he will keep his word and focus on safety.”

Throughout the campaign, Castel portrayed Chile as a country mired in chaos and insecurity. He promised to restore order, crack down on illegal immigration and slash spending.

Castor is an admirer of Donald Trump and is likely to become a close ally, with policies that echo those of the US president. He promised to build a border wall on Chile’s porous borders with Peru and Bolivia, build maximum-security prisons and mass deportations of irregular migrants, many of them from Venezuela.

Chile is one of the safest and most stable countries in South America, but an increase in immigration and organized crime in recent years has worried many voters. Custer often made a connection between the two.

However, his critics say the issue is overblown.

One Santiago voter, Javiera Carrasco, liked some of Castro’s policies but ultimately voted for Jara, a communist. She said she felt “a false sense of insecurity was becoming common.”

“In other countries, things are worse than what happens here. It doesn’t make sense to me at all.”

Chile’s murder rate is falling, and some studies suggest foreign-born people have lower crime rates on average. But growing insecurity is what motivates many of Custer’s voters.

“We are turning into Colombia, with a lot of terrorism, thieves, robberies and a very unsafe society,” said Max Struber, a voter.

“It may sound harsh to say it, but we need the government to continue Pinochet’s work. There were human rights violations. But as a government, it was good, we had peace and tranquility.”

Custer’s brother served as a minister during the Pinochet dictatorship, and his father was a member of the Nazi Party. Pinochet was an army general who led a U.S.-backed military coup in 1973 and established a 17-year military dictatorship characterized by brutal human rights abuses, enforced disappearances and free-market economic policies.

Chile’s current left-wing president Gabriel Boric, who cannot run again, has suffered from sluggish approval ratings. Castor’s rival Jeannette Jara may have suffered from being seen as a “continuous vote”.

Francisco Otero, a supporter of his Victory party, said neither candidate could perfectly represent everyone but that the government’s continued existence was seen as “worse”.

After the election results came in, Jara posted that “democracy has spoken loud and clear” and wished Castel “success for the good of Chile.”

“We will continue to work hard to make our country a better life,” she added.

Her supporters fear Castel’s election marks a return to Chile’s far-right past.

“Castell’s family helped dictator Augusto Pinochet,” Ricardo Herrera said, adding that he lived through Pinochet’s dictatorship, which was “cruel.”

Still, some doubt Custer will actually follow through on his promise.

“Cast said he wanted to deport 360,000 undocumented immigrants. He can’t do it. It’s physically impossible,” said Hector Lunes, a voter.

Custer is also staunchly opposed to abortion (even in cases of rape) and environmental policies.

His victory is likely to be welcomed by investors as he promises a free-market economic approach to shrinking the country and deregulating certain industries.

This is Chile’s first presidential election in which voting is compulsory and those who qualify are automatically registered.

That leaves some voters feeling like they have to choose what they call the “least worst” option.

“I don’t know if I would say it’s the lesser of two evils, but I think Chile needs to change,” Claudio Sanjuez said, “and I obviously think Castel could be that choice”.

“Both candidates are opposite extremes,” Cynthia Urrutia said, but added that she wanted Jeannette Jara to be more “centrist.”

Castel’s victory in Chile follows a series of elections in Latin America that have shifted the region to the right in recent years – including in Argentina, Ecuador, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

He will take office on March 11, 2026. At rallies, he regularly counts down the days until that date, warning undocumented immigrants they should leave before then if they want a chance to return.