The far right sweeps the Chilean presidential elections

Special correspondent in Santiago, ChileThe far right is celebrating in Chile. José Antonio Kast achieved a resounding victory this Sunday, with 58.3% of the vote, compared to the progressive candidate Jeannette Jara, who only managed 41.7% of the vote, with 95% of the ballots counted. The result was quite in line with what the polls predicted. The celebration at Kast's party headquarters in Santiago was monumental as soon as the irreversible results were announced: with 58% of the votes counted, Kast was already approaching 60% of the vote. Immediately afterward, Jara—a member of the Communist Party but with a typical center-left platform—posted a tweet announcing that she had already spoken with Kast by phone to congratulate him.

By successfully linking insecurity and irregular immigration, and establishing them as central themes of his campaign, José Antonio Kast has seduced the majority of Chileans with a proposal for a hardline approach, increased border control, and the expulsion of undocumented people from Chile. "Most of the migrants who have come to Chile haven't come to commit crimes but to work," says Raúl, a 33-year-old Colombian nurse who has lived in Chile for eight years and who, despite having his papers in order, fears for friends and family who don't, and that's why he voted for Jeannette Jara. Eliana, a 75-year-old Venezuelan who arrived in Chile 11 years ago, acknowledges that she "understands" Kast's proposal, for whom she has decided to vote, especially because "you have to adapt to the country you arrive in, not expect the country to adapt to you," and because the "communist" label applied to Jeannette Jara has set her back considerably, and Maduro is over there."

Regarding the increase in crime, there are differing perceptions: some citizens have changed their habits and avoid leaving home after dark. Others, however, consider that "it's all an exaggeration" and point out that, although insecurity has increased, "Chile remains one of the safest countries in Latin America." But Kast insisted on the installation of maximum-security prisons, harsher sentences for members of criminal gangs, and a review of the application of self-defense, among other measures: "Chile is working in reverse: criminals are free and honest citizens live locked up," he said. On the campaign trail.

In his first 18 months in La Moneda, José Antonio Kast intends to implement a major fiscal cut of $6 billion in public spending. Although he hasn't provided details on how he will do so, he has promised to eliminate the civil service, claiming that those who supposedly obtained their positions through influence rather than merit have done so. One of the main concerns of his detractors is the rollback of pension increases implemented by the Gabriel Boric administration, "which has greatly alleviated the situation for retirees," as Claudia, a 42-year-old social researcher and cancer survivor, stated: "There are many cancer treatments that women also undergo."

A staunch Catholic, Kast opposes abortion, even in the three circumstances under which it is legal in Chile: rape, fetal inviability, or risk to the pregnant woman's life. Kast has also justified the 1973 military coup led by... Augusto Pinochet's actions against the government of Salvador Allende, as well as the human rights violations that were perpetrated afterward during the dictatorship. Dolores, 78, went to vote this Sunday at the National Stadium, which was a detention and torture center during the dictatorship: "I woke up very sad and distressed today, because I think: Where is my country headed?" she says, crying: "What kind of Chile will my grandchildren live in?"