Elections Chile: Far-right Kast and left-wing MP Boric to face each other in second round

The first round of Chile's presidential elections has experienced a strong polarisation with two antagonistic winners. This first round ended with the far-right José Antonio Kast Rist of Acción Republicana as the main winner, with 27.9% of the votes. On the other hand, left-wing Social Convergence MP Gabriel Boric came in second place with 25.7% of the vote.

Third place, and also one of the most controversial, went to Franco Parisi of the People's Party, a liberal economist based in the United States (12.82%). Parisi has reached this position despite not having organised any face-to-face events in Chile or participated in any presidential debates.

Following Parisi is Sebastián Sichel (12.76%), a candidate backed by the current president, Sebastián Piñera. Yasna Provoste, of the centre-left New Social Pact coalition, closes the count with 11.62% of the vote. Marco Enríquez-Ominami of the Progressive Party and Eduardo Artes of the Patriotic Union (radical left) also contested the elections.  

Voter turnout was slightly higher than in the previous elections. Some 47.19% of Chileans called to the polls have turned out to vote, some 7 million, 0.47% more than in the 2017 presidential elections. However, this figure is in line with the recurrent high abstention rate since voting ceased to be compulsory in 2012.

According to Chilean law, the presidency can be won in the first round if any candidate has more than 50% of the vote. Otherwise, as is currently the case, the two candidates with the most votes will advance to the second round, to be held on 19 December.

Kast, a far-right candidate, and Boric, a deputy and member of the country's hard left, will face each other in the run-off to become Chile's president for the next four years. In this sense, the Chilean population finds itself between two political extremes reminiscent of the country's past. As Patricia Nieto and María M.Mur of EFE report from the South American country, "the elections have shown the two souls that coexist in Chile: the future president will head the most left-wing government since Salvador Allende (1970-1973) or the most right-wing since Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990)".

The right-wing aspirant, in addition to being a member of the Republican Action party, is a member of the conservative Catholic Schoenstatt movement. Kast is the father of nine children and a descendant of German immigrants who arrived in Chile in 1951. On several occasions, the media and politicians have pointed out that Kast's father was a Nazi soldier, although the lawyer has stated that he enlisted out of "obligation". Within his programme he has proposed a reduction in public spending and the elimination of some ministries, such as the women's ministry. Kast is also known for his opposition to abortion, feminism and gay marriage. Also, despite shunning the far-right label, he has shown his admiration for the Pinochet regime. Internationally, Kast has expressed sympathy for populists such as Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump.

Kast has assured that his candidacy is the only one that can "recover peace" and confront "criminals and drug traffickers". During the election campaign he has also defended the Chilean security forces, accused of abuses since the 2019 protests.  

"This 19 December we are not only going to elect a president, we are going to choose between freedom and communism, we are going to choose between democracy and communism; and we are stronger and we are going to show that in democracy we are going to defeat that intransigent left," Kast declared after learning the results of the first round.

The far-right candidate refers to Gabriel Boric, also a lawyer and candidate for the left-wing Convergencia Social party, as "intransigent left". Boric entered politics a decade ago by leading protests calling for free, free and quality education. The presidential candidate, who is close to the Communist Party, has criticised centre-left governments during democracy. In the run-up to the second round, Boric has called for a feminist and environmentalist government. "Today we have received a mandate and a tremendous responsibility, we have been entrusted with leading a dispute for democracy, for inclusion, for respect, and for the dignity of all," said Boric after the count.  

This first round took place shortly after Piñera decreed a state of emergency in four provinces in the south of the country due to the Mapuche conflict. Meanwhile, Chile's political authorities are working on the Constitutional Convention, a process aimed at drafting a new constitution to replace the current one, approved during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The drafting of this new constitution began last October, coinciding with the second anniversary of the historic demonstrations of 2019.

Latin America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra