Chile elects Kast as president in rightward shift

Chile has elected its most right-wing president in 35 years of democracy, with Jose Antonio Kast securing a victory over his leftist runoff rival.

Mr Kast won some 58% of the vote and held an unassailable lead over Jeannette Jara, a communist who headed a broad leftist coalition.

He campaigned on a promise to expel more than 300,000 immigrants, seal the northern border, take a "firm hand" on near record crime rates and restart the stalled economy.

"Chile wanted change," he told thousands of supporters yesterday evening, vowing to "restore respect for the law".

He also pledged to govern for all Chileans and to listen to critics.

Once one of the Americas safest countries, Chile was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, violent social protests and an influx of foreign organised crime groups.

In Santiago, Mr Kast's supporters beeped car horns, waved flags and cheered a man who has repeatedly defended the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Retiree Gina Mello hoped Mr Kast would "deploy the military" to the streets from day one, "lock up all the drug traffickers and deport anyone who came here to commit crimes".

Supporters sang the national anthem, chanted "Pinochet! Pinochet!" and clasped portraits of the late autocrat.

Another Mr Kast voter came dressed as US President Donald Trump.

Police said they detained one person in a small anti-Kast demonstration in the capital.

For Mr Kast, a 59-year-old father of nine, it was third time lucky after two failed attempts at the presidency.

His victory marks the latest win for the resurgent right in Latin America, with Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, El Salvador's Nayib Bukele and Argentina's Javier Milei having risen to power before Mr Kast.

In October, the election of centrist Rodrigo Paz ended almost two decades of socialist rule in Bolivia.

Quickly after the polls closed and the scale of the victory became clear, Ms Jara called Mr Kast to concede, saying voters had spoken "loud and clear".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Argentina's Javier Milei were among those who sent their congratulations.

Once seen by many Chileans as too extreme, Mr Kast attracted voters increasingly worried about crime and immigration

He is to the right of most Chileans on many social issues, including abortion, which he opposes even in cases of rape.

But many Chileans fed up with high crime and slow growth during four years of leftist rule said they would vote for change, despite misgivings.

Polls showed more than 60% of Chileans thought security is the top issue facing the country.

And while statistics show that violent crime - fueled by Venezuelan, Peruvian, Colombian and Ecuadoran gangs - has risen in the last 10 years, fears about crime have risen even faster.

Richard Kouyoumdjian, a security expert and former naval officer, said Mr Kast would have to quickly develop a strategy to secure the border, strengthen the police, bring immigration under control and end an Indigenous insurgency in the south.

"On security it's very basic what he's said," Mr Kouyoumdjian told AFP.

"It's policy in 200 characters on Facebook or Twitter," he added.

While Chile remains one of the safest countries in Latin America, violent crime has spiked in recent years.

Organised crime groups have taken root, capitalising on the country's northern desert borders with coca-producing neighbours Peru and Bolivia, major international marine ports and a surge of migrants, many from Venezuela who are susceptible to human and sex trafficking.

Mr Kast's proposals include creating a police force inspired by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to rapidly detain and expel migrants in the country illegally.

He also has touted massive cuts in public spending.

Chile is the world's largest copper producer and a major producer of lithium, and expectations of less regulation and market-friendly policies have already buoyed the local stock market, peso currency and equity benchmark.

However, Mr Kast's more radical proposals are likely to face pushback from a divided Congress.

The Senate is evenly split between left and right wing parties, while the swing vote in the lower legislative body belongs to the populist People's Party.

Mr Kast's hardline positions have raised fears that he will try to rewrite the history of a dictatorship that tortured and imprisoned tens of thousands of people.

"I'm fearful because I think we are going to have a lot of repression," said 71-year-old retiree Cecilia Mora.

"I see him as a Pinochet out of uniform," she said.

Mr Pinochet left power in 1990 after Chileans rejected a bid to extend his 17-year rule via referendum.

At the time Mr Kast campaigned for Mr Pinochet.

Mr Kast's family background has also raised questions.

Media investigations have revealed his German-born father was a member of Adolf Hitler's Nazi party and a soldier during World War II.

Mr Kast insists his father was a forced conscript and did not support the Nazis.

Ms Jara's stint as labour minister under outgoing leftist President Gabriel Boric proved to be an Achilles' heel.

Mr Boric's term was crippled by repeated failed attempts to reform the Pinochet-era constitution.

Since 2010, Chileans have alternated between left- and right-wing governments at every presidential election.

Mr Kast will take office in March.