A literal communist and a pro-Trump right-wing candidate are set to face off in Chile’s presidential run-off in a contest that could shape the continuing right-wing resurgence in Latin America.
Jeannette Jara, the communist party candidate, and José Antonio Kast, a veteran politician and main conservative offering, are set to face off after winning pluralities in the first round of elections. Latin America has seen a resurgence of right-wing politics in recent years amid failures from numerous left-wing governments, with candidates like Argentina’s Javier Milei and Bolivia’s Rodrigo Paz scoring decisive election wins this year.
Chile has experienced a wave of violent crime and mounting economic pressures that have drastically polarized its political landscape.
The two candidates propose diametrically opposing views on the size of the state, with Jara advocating for an expanded social safety net while Kast has proposed shrinking the size of Chile’s government.
Kast has publicly supported President Donald Trump, saying his 2024 election victory in November was “a new victory for freedom and common sense.” Jara has defended her communist affiliation, saying in 2024 that the Cold War perception of communism isn’t “representative of the current situation.”
The current president, Gabriel Boric, is a leftist that ascended to the office in 2021 after a wide-scale social uprising in 2019 that started as a student-led protest over a raise in metro fare prices in the capital of Santiago. Boric himself has criticized leftists in his own nation for not taking responsibility for its own mistakes.
Chile still suffers from large-scale economic stagnation, with low investment rates and productivity still being major problems headed into the election. The nation has experienced significant political turmoil over recent years, as two motions to change his constitution have so far failed.
The State Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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