Conservative wins Chilean presidential election
15 December 05:17
In the second round of the presidential election in Chile, which took place on December 14, far-rightist Jose Antonio Cast won. He beat Communist Party candidate Janet Haru with 58% of the vote.
This was reported by Reuters, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
Jose Antonio Cast won the election after a campaign during which he proposed building walls on the border, deploying the military in areas with high crime rates, and deporting all migrants who are in the country illegally. Casta’s victory is another success for the right-wing within Latin America, as it puts him on a par with Daniel Noboa of Ecuador, Naib Buchele of El Salvador, and Javier Millais of Argentina. In Bolivia, after almost two decades of socialist rule, centrist Rodrigo Paz was also elected president.
This campaign was Casta’s third attempt to run for president. In 2021, he made it to the second round, but lost to Gabriel Borich, whose government member was Casta’s current leftist rival Janet Jara. Reuters writes that many Chileans considered Casta too radical, but he managed to win the support of people who are increasingly concerned about immigration and crime.
The publication notes that Cast managed to win even in parts of Chile that traditionally voted for left-wing candidates. Claudia Heiss, a political scientist at the University of Chile, says that his victory may also be due to the perception that Chávez is too radical a member of the Communist Party.
Cast called for large-scale cuts in government spending and the creation of a police force modeled after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he believes would be able to quickly expel those who are in Chile illegally. Now, Castro’s most radical proposals may face resistance in Congress, as the Senate is equally divided between the left and right parties.
