Chileans will go to the polls on Sunday to choose President Gabriel Boric’s successor. Due to the fragmented scenario, the country is likely to see a second round between left-wing and right-wing coalitions. Find out who the main candidates are. Chileans will go to the polls this Sunday (November 16) to choose a new president in a poll that pits the current left-wing coalition government against a series of right-wing candidates. The vote came as crime and immigration were top concerns for voters.
This will be Chile’s first presidential election in which voting is compulsory since 2012. Those who do not vote are subject to fines.
The country, where about 16 million people are eligible to vote, recorded a 53% abstention rate in the first round of the 2021 presidential election, meaning there are many uninterested or undecided people going to the polls, adding an element of unpredictability to this Sunday’s vote.
None of the eight candidates registered to contest are expected to reach the majority needed to win in the first round, and a second round will probably be held on December 14th.
Among the list of top candidates, four are considered the most competitive.
They include communist Janet Jara and far-right candidate José Antonio Casto, who have emerged as front-runners in opinion polls, and whose campaigns have focused on similar proposals to strengthen security and strengthen the police, expand the country’s prison capacity, modernize and acquire new equipment, and train security forces.
Below are the main candidates to replace outgoing President Gabriel Boric.
Janet Jara
Mr. Hara, 51, is a member of the Communist Party and a candidate for the coalition government led by Mr. Boric. Topping the polls, she is expected to advance to the second round, but will face several obstacles, including being a member of the Communist Party and the current president’s unpopularity preventing her from running for re-election.
The former labor minister has promised to raise the minimum wage, strengthen workers’ rights and revitalize the lithium industry. She also worked to modernize the police force, build new prisons, and modernize the police force.
Jose Antonio Casto
The 59-year-old lawyer and third-time presidential candidate lost to Boric in the second round of the 2021 election. Kast, the founder of the far-right Republican Party, has made immigration and security a top priority, proposing mass deportations of illegal immigrants and the construction of maximum-security prisons.
The son of a German army lieutenant who defected to South America after World War II, his older brother’s ties to his father’s Nazi party were tarnished by the last election, as was his time as a minister under General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.
Johannes Kaiser
Kaiser, 49, is of German-Chilean descent like Kast, has a law degree and was a former Republican before leaving to form the National Liberal Party.
The right-wing lawmaker, who rose to fame as a YouTuber and is considered the “Chilean Millay,” said he would close the border with Bolivia, deport illegal immigrants with criminal records to El Salvador, cut spending and drastically reduce the size of the country. Kaiser also pledged to withdraw the country from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Paris Climate Accord.
The candidate claims that his paternal grandfather fled the Nazi regime to Chile.
Evelyn Massey
The 72-year-old economist is a conservative and was initially among the front-runners in opinion polls, but ultimately fell out of favor.
This is the second time the former mayor and labor minister has run for president, having lost to Socialist Party member Michelle Bachelet in 2013 with 38% of the vote.
Born in Santiago in 1953, Evelyn Mattei is the daughter of Fernando Mattei Ober, a prominent military figure during the regime of dictator Augusto Pinochet. During President Sebastián Piñera’s first government (2010-2014), he served as Minister of Labor and Social Security.
Possible scenarios for round 2
Opinion polls show that Mr. Jara and Mr. Kast are the most likely to advance to a second round of voting in December, with Mr. Kast and other right-wing candidates likely to defeat Mr. Jara in a run-off.
The December elections will also result in a new parliamentary composition. Chile’s left-wing coalition government is in the minority in both houses of Congress. The entire 155-seat House of Representatives and 23 of the 50 Senate seats are up for grabs.
If the Chilean right-wing wins the presidency and a majority in both houses of Congress, it will be the first time since the fall of Pinochet’s dictatorship in 1990 that conservatives will hold an absolute majority.
If the right-wing coalition achieves a four-seventh majority in both houses (89 in the Assembly, 29 in the Senate), it will be able to approve constitutional amendments.
German colonies weigh heavily in elections
When Johannes Kaiser interrupted her last televised debate on Monday to say hello and present her with a rose on her 72nd birthday, Evelyn Matthai responded, “Danke Schön” (German for “thank you”).
Along with Kast and Kaiser, she is also part of Chile’s German community. Like most of the country’s German colonies, home to around 500,000 people out of a population of 20 million, Massey’s ancestors arrived in the southern part of the country in the 19th century.
rc/jps (Reuters, Associated Press)
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