communist and ultra-right dominate elections

Jara emerged as a presidential option after, as Minister of Labor under President Gabriel Boric, he managed to reduce the working week from 45 to 40 hours and led the reform of the private pension system. The candidate is part of the social-democratic wing of the Communist Party, but marks differences with its more orthodox leaders.

“She presents herself as a dissident,” journalist Alejandra Carmona, author of the biography “Jeannette”, told AFP. The communist candidate adopted an agenda against crime and greater immigration controls, more typical of the right. “The issue of public security will be a priority from day one,” said Jara on television.

A revolver and a countdown

A 59-year-old lawyer, Kast is the son of a former soldier in the Nazi Army and brother of a former minister of the dictator Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990). In 2019, he founded an extreme right-wing force in his image and likeness, the Republican Party, which he leads with a mixture of “personal sympathy” and “strong control” over its leaders, Javiera González, co-author of the book “Kast: the messiah of the Chilean right”, explained to AFP.

He always appears wearing an impeccable suit, white shirt and tie. This is your third campaign. His proposal is summed up in the relentless fight against crime and irregular immigrants. An admirer of Pinochet, this time he left aside issues such as his rejection of abortion and same-sex marriage. He admitted that he has a five-shot revolver and that he wants to increase the police’s firepower. In an open campaign event, he gave his speech protected by armored glass.

Kast counts down the days left to implement his plan to expel undocumented immigrants under his eventual government. “If they don’t do it voluntarily, we will look for them” to expel them, he threatens. “Kast is the person needed to remove this government that has been harmful” to control crime, says Pedro Pereira, a 61-year-old administrative worker in the center of Santiago.