Chile elects first right-wing president since return to democracy

Chile’s ultraconservative former lawmaker José Antonio Kast secured a stunning victory in the presidential election Sunday, defeating the candidate of the center-left governing coalition and setting the stage for the country’s most right-wing government in 35 years of democracy.

- By ISABEL DEBRE AND NAYARA BATSCHKE

CLAUDIO SANTANA Getty Images

JOSÉ ANTONIO KAST celebrates with his wife after winning the presidential election in Chile.

Kast won 58.2% of the vote as Chileans overwhelmingly embraced his pledge to crack down on increased crime, deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants without legal status and revive the sluggish economy of one of Latin America’s most stable and prosperous nations.

His challenger, communist candidate Jeannette Jara, received 41.8%. She called Kast to concede and congratulate him after his lead in the vote tally appeared insurmountable.

Kast’s supporters erupted into cheers in the street, shouting his name and honking horns.

“Democracy spoke loud and clear,” Jara, who served as labor minister in the center-left government of departing President Gabriel Boric, wrote on social media.

Speaking at a public square in downtown Santiago, Chile’s capital, she encouraged her supporters not to be deterred by the outcome. “It is in defeat that we learn the most,” she said.