José Antonio Kast, of the Republican Party of Chile, in Santiago, Chile, on December 14, 2025. ESTEBAN FELIX/AP
For the first time, a supporter of former dictator Augusto Pinochet has won the Chilean presidency via the ballot box. The ultraconservative José Antonio Kast won a decisive victory on Sunday, December 14, with 58.2% of the vote in the presidential runoff, defeating left-wing candidate and Communist Party member Jeannette Jara (41.8%). The 59-year-old candidate prevailed in every region, coloring the entire country blue, including Santiago and its traditionally left-wing suburbs. His triumph confirms the far-right turn underway in South America.
"Nothing would be possible if we did not have God," Kast said on Sunday night, in a speech calling for unity before thousands of supporters gathered in the upscale Las Condes neighborhood, many of whom celebrated having "escaped communism."
The nearly 20-point gap with Jara should not be interpreted as massive support for Kast's platform, said Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser, a political scientist at the Pontifical Catholic University. "In the second round, people often vote for the lesser evil," he said. "So it does not mean that 58% of voters are far right and embrace Kast's conservative positions, but that they above all demand a strong response to crime."
