Chile Becomes Latest Latin American Nation To Veer Right With Election of Trump-Loving Kast

Tens of thousands of supporters turned out in Santiago Sunday night to celebrate the victory of a right-wing supporter of President Trump, José Antonio Kast, in Chile’s presidential contest.The former lawmaker and Republican Party candidate, Mr. Kast, secured 58.2 percent of the vote, defeating the Communist Party candidate of the left-wing governing coalition, Jeannette Jara in a runoff vote following the November 14 election.Mr. Kast’s supporters took to the streets — many wearing “Make Chile Great Again” hats — waving flags and cheering. Some in the crowd hoisted photos of the former dictator, General Augusto Pinochet. Mr. Kast’s brother, Miguel Kast, was a minister in the military dictatorship that ended in 1990. The victory — marked by one of the highest turnouts in Chilean history at 85.4 percent of registered voters — puts Chile on a rightward trajectory mimicking several of its neighbors recently. However, Mr. Kast will be pressed to find a governing coalition in Chile’s lower legislative body, the Chamber of Deputies. The left-wing bloc comprised of the outgoing president, Gabriel Boric’s, United for Chile party, and the Communist Party holds 103 of the 155 seats. The same bloc holds 26 of the 50 Senate seats.Mr. Kast has promised to expel all undocumented migrants and to build a border wall along Peru and Bolivia. Fears about uncontrolled illegal migration and crime were central issues in the vote.“Without security there is no peace, without peace there is no democracy, without democracy there is no freedom. Chile will once again be free from crime, free from anguish, free from fear,” he told supporters during his victory speech.Among his promises, Mr. Kast has vowed to build more maximum-security prisons like the mega-jail in El Salvador that the United States sent planes of migrants earlier this year. Mr. Kast wants to cut government spending and cut government jobs in an effort to spur economic growth.Mr. Kast’s win is the latest shift to the right in South America. Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador have elected conservative leaders in recent years. Right-wing candidates in Colombia and Peru could also win elections next year.Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, celebrated the victory on X. “The left retreats,” Mr. Milei wrote. “Freedom advances.” The post showed a map of South American countries that have moved to the right.Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Mr. Kast. “The United States looks forward to partnering with his administration to strengthen regional security and revitalize our trade relationship,” Mr. Rubio said in an X post.

Chile Becomes Latest Latin American Nation To Veer Right With Election of Trump-Loving Kast

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