Chile has elected hardline conservative José Antonio Kast as its next president, marking a dramatic political shift that aligns the nation with a growing bloc of right-wing governments across Latin America. The election outcome reflects profound voter anxieties over security, immigration, and crime that have unraveled Chile’s traditional image as a regional bastion of stability.
Kast, a 59-year-old conservative who has drawn both criticism and support for his family’s connections to Chile’s authoritarian past, secured victory by promising an “emergency government” approach to the nation’s challenges. His campaign rhetoric emphasized strict immigration controls, including proposed border walls and mass deportations of undocumented migrants, while simultaneously pledging to avoid authoritarianism despite his admiration for former dictator Augusto Pinochet.
The president-elect’s victory places Chile alongside Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Panama in a continental trend that has seen nations swing decisively from left to right governance. This political realignment is largely driven by widespread concerns over economic instability, corruption within previous leftist administrations, and escalating security issues.
Kast’s messaging particularly resonated with voters concerned about Chile’s rapidly changing demographic landscape. Government statistics reveal a 46% increase in the foreign-born population since 2018, with approximately 336,000 undocumented migrants now residing in the country—many fleeing Venezuela’s economic collapse. This rapid transformation has created social tensions and fears about crime, despite data showing murder rates have actually declined since 2022.
While Kast promises to implement Trump-style “iron fist” policies, including military deployment to borders and aggressive social media promotion of his crackdowns, practical implementation faces significant hurdles. Venezuela currently refuses to accept deportees from Chile, and the nation’s economy relies heavily on migrant labor in sectors ranging from agriculture to hospitality.
Business owners like Carlos Alberto Cossio, a Bolivian national operating in Chile for 35 years, warn that mass deportations would severely impact economic productivity and increase costs. Meanwhile, migrants like Venezuelan waiter Gabriel Funez describe living in legal limbo, fearing both deportation and rising xenophobia validated by Kast’s rhetoric.
The new president will also face political challenges, as his party lacks a congressional majority, requiring compromise on proposals for tougher sentencing and maximum-security prisons. Ultimately, Kast’s victory represents how perceptions of control may matter as much as actual policy results for voters across a continent grappling with interconnected crises of security, migration, and economic uncertainty.