Trump-inspired former congressman expected to succeed Gabriel Boric but compulsory voting could create volatility
Chileans will head to the polls on Sunday for a presidential runoff in which the favourite is a Donald Trump-inspired candidate who has pledged to build a wall along the country’s borders to keep migrants out.
José Antonio Kast, 59, an ultra-conservative former congressman who has built his campaign on a promise to expel tens of thousands of undocumented migrants, faces Jeannette Jara, 51, a former labour minister under the current centre-left president, Gabriel Boric, 39.
Jara finished the first round ahead, with 26.9% to 23.9%, but while she was the unified candidate of a leftwing coalition, rightwing contenders, including Kast, together took more than half of the votes.
For that reason, and given recent polling, Kast – the son of a Nazi party member, an admirer of the dictator Augusto Pinochet and a staunch Catholic known for his opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage – is widely expected to rule Chile for the next four years.
