Chile Votes Today for a New President to Replace Boric
voting is mandatory
By EFE News Agency (La Estrella de Panamá)
HAVANA TIMES – Chile is holding this Sunday its ninth presidential election since the end of the Pinochetr dictatorship (1973–1990), with the novelty of mandatory voting for everyone over 18. Eight candidates are vying for the presidency; to be elected without going to a runoff, they must obtain 50.01% of valid votes.
Chileans will choose this Sunday at the polls the successor to progressive President Gabriel Boric, with one of his ministers as the favorite—the communist Jeannette Jara—and with attention focused on the competition among the far-right candidates to determine who will come in second.
Jara, a 51-year-old lawyer and administrator, leads the polls with an average of 28.5% voting intention—far from the majority needed to win the presidency in the first round, which would force a runoff on December 14.
The former Labor Minister was chosen as the sole candidate of the progressive bloc in the primaries and became the first member of the Communist Party to represent the sector in a presidential race, something many voters see as an obstacle to reaching power.
If she wins, however, Jara has said she will renounce her party membership to send a signal of unity and highlight that behind her stands the broadest coalition in history, spanning from Christian Democrats to the Communist Party.
The Right-Wing Primaries
The right-wing forces, meanwhile, decided to go to the polls fragmented, so these elections are in some ways seen as the sector’s primary.
It is the first time since the return to democracy that there are two highly competitive far-right candidates.
A few weeks ago it seemed clear that 59-year-old José Antonio Kast would make the runoff, but many polls published before the blackout period show the far-right leader losing support and potentially putting at risk his third attempt to reach La Moneda.
The cause is congressman Johannes Kaiser, a representative of an even more radical far right and willing to wage what he calls the “cultural battle.” Some polls place him tied at 20% with Kast, his former ally, who has tried to appear more moderate.
Both candidates, in any case, promise to close borders, apply a heavy hand against irregular immigration and crime, lower taxes, and shrink the size of the state.
They are followed by former mayor Evelyn Matthei, from the traditional right, who for months was the favorite but has deflated to 14% in the polls.
“The Most Right-Wing Election”
If all three right-wing forces unite in the runoff—as all experts agree they will—the chances of Jara reaching La Moneda are slim.
Since 2006, no president has been succeeded by someone from the same political camp, and power has oscillated between left and right.
The first and only right-wing president to take office to date has been the late Sebastián Piñera, who served two non-consecutive terms (2010–2014 and 2018–2022).
“If any of the three reaches the presidency, it would be the first time Chile has a Pinochetist president elected at the ballot box,” Octavio Avendaño of the University of Chile told EFE.
Unlike Piñera, who voted against keeping General Augusto Pinochet (1973–1990) in power in the 1988 plebiscite, Kast and Matthei campaigned for the “yes,” while Kaiser said during the campaign that he would support the 1973 coup again.
“This is the most right-wing election since the return to democracy. In the first round, the three together could reach up to 55% of the votes,” explained sociologist Alberto Mayol, director of the survey La Cosa Nostra, to EFE.
A Change of Cycle
The rise in crime and immigration largely explains the surge of the right, but also a “change of cycle” driven by disillusionment over unfulfilled promises following the massive 2019 protests demanding improvements in education, health, pensions, and a new constitution.
Added to this is dissatisfaction with Boric’s administration, who cannot run for re-election and will leave office in March with a disapproval rating close to 60%.
“The left failed to provide an answer to the legitimacy crisis, and therefore the political tide shifted. The rise of this very radical far right emerges as a response to the identitarian left that emerged after the 2019 uprising,” Mayol noted.
Avendaño believes “the right has been very successful in dominating the agenda and installing security, migration, and economic growth as the central themes of the campaign.”
Unlike the 2021 presidential elections, in which Boric defeated Kast by a wide margin, “no one is talking anymore about making changes to the neoliberal model,” he added.
In addition to the presidential vote, Chileans will also elect members of parliament on Sunday—an election in which the right starts as the favorite and which will be key for the country’s future governability.
Published in Spanish by La Estrella de Panama and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.