SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) 鈥� Ask many Chileans how their country fared in the past several years and they’ll describe a descent into disaster: across porous borders, bringing unprecedented kidnappings and contract killings to one of the region鈥檚 safest nations. chaos on once-sleepy streets. An economy long vaunted for its rapid growth sputtered into a stall.
These are the voters who hope to elect their country’s most right-wing president since its military dictatorship on Sunday.
Former lawmaker , 59, they argue, can bring back the simple, stable life that Chileans lost to and left-wing excesses. Kast’s rival in this is their worst fear: a communist.
鈥淲e need to go back in time to when Chile meant peace and quiet, when there weren’t so many Venezuelans and Colombians in the streets, when you didn’t have to look over your shoulder every second,鈥� said 70-year-old vegetable vendor Ernesto Romero, shucking corn in Chile鈥檚 capital of Santiago.
A deeply polarized electorate
Ask the same question to other Chileans and they’ll recount an opposite reality:
A shorter workweek, higher minimum wage and more generous pension system made one of Latin America’s most unequal countries more livable, they say. The homicide rate declined in the last two years, official figures show. A defiant foreign policy 鈥� outspoken against repression, U.S. President Donald and toward Palestinians 鈥� made Chile a regional champion of human rights.
These are the voters who hope, , to elect their country’s most left-wing president since its return to democracy in 1990.
, 51, they argue, can save Chile from the wave of that has across the world. Jara’s rival is their worst fear: The son of a with a fondness for brutal dictatorship.
鈥淲e need to go forward,” said Luc铆a Poblete, a 32-year-old engineer at Jara鈥檚 rally late Wednesday. 鈥淜ast will erase all the progress we鈥檝e made for women, for labor rights, for civil freedoms.鈥�
The chasm between Chilean perceptions of the status quo underscores not only the depth of the nation’s divisions but also the stakes of Sunday’s showdown, which Kast is after 70% of voters backed right-leaning parties in the first round.
Kast vows to make Chile safe again
Today, Kast is hoping the third time鈥檚 the charm, and his presidential run has so far been a much more effective endeavor . That’s largely thanks to .
鈥淛ara seems more grounded, more sensible. But it’s not the time for that. It’s time for drastic measures, for shows of force,鈥� said Eduardo Marillana, 48, a former Jara supporter who jumped ship for Kast after his truck was stolen a few weeks ago. 鈥淲hether we like it or not, we need the far right now.鈥�
In 2021, the Catholic father of nine election to , a tattooed ex-student protest leader who rattled investors with his promises to 鈥渂ury neoliberalism鈥� but sick of fiscal austerity and angry about social inequality.
Kast’s family ties to the Nazi party sparked an uproar at the time 鈥� as did his apparent nostalgia for Gen. Pinochet (who he said 鈥渨ould vote for me if he were alive鈥�) to same-sex marriage and abortion without exception.
This time, Kast has dodged questions about his social views, pivoting to the more politically palatable issues of insecurity and mass migration that have ginned up voter anxiety and to .
An ideological alliance forms in Latin America
Four years ago, Boric came to power as unapologetically left-wing leaders and to and on promises of radical social change. But the leaders’ honeymoon was short as they to realize high ambitions.
Now, Kast emerges emboldened as Trump’s allies are on the to .
Taking a , Kast vows mass deportations of the estimated 337,000 migrants in Chile without legal status 鈥� from their crisis-stricken country in the last seven years.
Studying the crime-fighting tactics of , Nayib Bukele, Kast proposes boosting the power of police and expanding maximum-security prison capacity.
Borrowing from Argentina’s , Kast aims to slash red tape, shrink the public payroll and cut spending by $6 billion within just 18 months. Critics say such austerity is unrealistic without reducing social benefits 鈥� which Kast promises not to touch 鈥� and unnecessary to fix budget strains that pale beside .
His economic team Thursday acknowledged to The Associated Press that it might be 鈥減referable to allow for an adjustment over a longer period.鈥� But it insisted the cuts were crucial to 鈥渞estore balance to public finances.”
Jara faces tough odds
On the face of it, Jara has a lot going for her. She engineered Boric鈥檚 most as his minister of labor. Her humble origins selling hot dogs and toilet paper to get through school makes for an up-from-nothing story rarely found in Chile’s elite circles of power. She has a strong record of negotiating with rivals to get things done.
But experts say it’ll take a miracle for her to pry a victory from Kast.
鈥淭here are just too many things stacked against her,鈥� said Robert Funk, associate professor of political science at the University of Chile.
The most glaring: Being a communist. Although her proposals to boost foreign investment and promote fiscal restraint hardly smack of stereotypical communism, analysts say her longtime party membership undercuts efforts to woo moderate voters.
鈥淛ust the name 鈥楥ommunist Party scares people,鈥� said Luc铆a Dammert, a sociologist and Boric鈥檚 first chief of staff. 鈥淭he word is used in the region to diminish people.鈥�
Then there’s the challenge of with a 30% approval rating in a country where citizens have voted out incumbent leaders at every election since 2005. Add to that the difficulty of appearing tough on crime next to Kast.
“This campaign is among the most difficult I鈥檝e ever run, by far,鈥� Ricardo Solari, Jara鈥檚 campaign strategist and a prominent ex-minister, told the AP.
What keeps Jara in the game, he insisted, is her appeal as a bulwark against the sort of right-wing radicalism that has elsewhere.
鈥淭he right exaggerates insecurity to convince people that the only possible response is extreme force,鈥� Solari said. 鈥淲e’ve seen in Latin America that when that happens, ultimately what gets imprisoned is democracy itself.鈥�
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