Chile turned the page without tears, without noise, with broad participation and a clear result. In a context such as Latin America, marked by unrest in the past in the various presidential elections, Santiago offered a different image: ballot boxes respected, opponents recognising each other, institutions holding.
The victory of José Antonio Kast over Jeannette Jara is not a change of political colour, but the signal of a new phase, full of questions, but also of expectations.

The rise of Kast

With his victory in the second round, José Antonio Kast became the most conservative president of Chile since the return to democracy (1988).
A lawyer and leader of the Partido Republicano, Kast arrived at La Moneda after a long and controversial path, marked by three presidential candidacies and a progressive transformation of his public profile: from a figure perceived as marginal and radical to the reference point of a political area that has been able to capitalise on widespread fears, social fatigue and demand for order.

The final result was clear: around 58% of the vote for Kast, against just over 41% for Jeannette Jara, candidate of the Communist Party. A wide gap, which belied many of the readings that had emerged in the days leading up to the elections, and which closed the electoral contest without much ambiguity.

From the first round to the ballot, many twists and turns

In the first round, the landscape had appeared much more uncertain. Kast had come second, behind Jeannette Jara, who had gathered the consensus of the progressive area in trouble after the years of Gabriel Boric’s government.
What was surprising, however, was the performance of Franco Parisi, an atypical outsider, economist, anti-system figure and candidate capable of intercepting transversal votes, particularly among the most disillusioned voters.

Parisi had obtained a significant percentage, 19.8%, becoming the needle of the scales in these elections. After the vote, in fact, his media presence grew: a frequent guest on MegaNoticias, Chile’s leading news programme, he analysed the political climate, initially speaking of a possible slight advantage of Jara over Kast. A reading that the ballot has since strongly refuted.

In the transition between the first and second rounds, Kast was able to compact the conservative and liberal electorates, gathering support from other right-wing candidates such as Kaiser (the latter very much followed and loved on social media, especially on X and Tiktok) and presenting himself as a counter to a return of the more ideological left.

Jara, on the contrary, failed to sufficiently broaden her base beyond the progressive camp.

Who Kast is and what he promised Chile

Kast embodies a political project that is as divisive as it is clear.
On the economic level, he proposes a liberalist line, with a strong downsizing of public spending, incentives for private initiative and a reduction in the perimeter of the State: a theme close to the Argentine President, Javier Milei, in particular.
On the social side, however, he defends ultra-conservative positions: he is against abortion, egalitarian marriage and has repeatedly questioned the existence of ministries dedicated to gender policies.

The heart of his campaign, however, was something else: security and immigration.
Kast promised zero tolerance against crime, openly drawing inspiration from Nayib Bukele’s model in El Salvador. He made the expulsion of illegal immigrants – particularly Venezuelans – one of the pillars of his programme, tapping into a growing feeling of insecurity, especially in the urban suburbs.
It is no coincidence that Kast, during his election campaign, held important meetings with the Minister of Justice of El Salvador to discuss important security issues in the country.

Despite his harsh rhetoric, however, Kast has in recent years shown greater attention to institutional form, avoiding overtly nostalgic and Pinochetist tones, presenting himself as a guarantor of stability.

Jeannette Jara: a defeat that weighs on the Chilean left

Communist candidate Jeannette Jara emerges defeated, but not delegitimised. Her result represents the worst outcome for the progressive camp since the end of the dictatorship, and certifies a phase of profound difficulty for the Chilean left, unable to give convincing answers on security, growth and immigration management.

In his post-election speech, Jara acknowledged his opponent’s victory, emphasising the value of the popular vote and wishing Kast to govern with respect for democracy. A gesture that helped maintain a relaxed atmosphere and reinforced the country’s image of institutional maturity.

A recognised exercise in democracy in the region

The Chilean elections were held in an atmosphere of order, transparency and participation, partly due to the introduction of compulsory voting. The turnout was high and the result widely recognised.

Numerous South American leaders congratulated Chile on the electoral process: Javier Milei from Argentina, Santiago Peña from Paraguay, representatives of the Bolivian government and other presidents from the region spoke of an example of a functioning democracy, regardless of the orientation of the winner.

Particularly significant was the gesture of outgoing president Gabriel Boric, who phoned Kast to congratulate him and ensure an orderly handover. A powerful image, in a continent where peaceful transitions are not always a given (see Venezuela and Nicaragua).

The Chile to come

Kast’s victory opens a delicate phase. The new president will not have an automatic parliamentary majority and will have to move in a fragmented Congress, where every reform will require negotiation and compromise.
The promise of order, security and rigour will have to contend not only with institutional constraints, but also with a living historical memory that continues to weigh on Chile’s public debate.

It is no coincidence that a substantial part of Jeannette Jara’s electorate experienced Kast’s victory with disquiet. Chilean and international reporters have repeatedly referred to the biographical profile of the new president: Kast was the only one among the candidates to have voted in favour of continuing the dictatorship in the 1988 referendum, and his family history – with a father who had emigrated from Germany and was once a member of the Nazi party – has cyclically returned to the centre of the debate.
Elements that, while not determining the vote on their own, have fuelled fears of a normalisation of an indulgent discourse towards the Pinochetist legacy, especially among the younger and more progressive sectors of society.

In any case, the political fact emerging from the polls is more complex. A large part of the country called for a change of course not so much out of nostalgia for the past, but as a response to very real concerns: crime perceived as out of control, irregular immigration, economic stagnation and distrust of a ruling class incapable of offering quick solutions. In this sense, Kast intercepted a demand for protection rather than a desire for restoration.

Chile thus enters a new season, not devoid of tensions, if anything, but sustained by a fundamental capital: a democracy that has demonstrated its ability to withstand the shock of change, guaranteeing an orderly and respectful transition of power. It now remains to be seen whether Kast will be able to govern a country that elected him, but which remains deeply plural and vigilant.

And, in the margin, there remains the almost symbolic image of Franco Parisi, the great protagonist of the first round and then tireless commentator of the post-vote: while Chile chose a clear direction, he continued to decipher its contradictions in the television studio. Perhaps this latest episode is also a sign of democratic stability in the country.