General Discussion

Ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast elected Chile’s next president

The son of a Nazi party member and an admirer of Pinochet, Kast built his campaign on a promise to expel tens of thousands of undocumented migrants

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/15/jose-antonio-kast-wins-election-chile-president

The ultra-conservative former congressman José Antonio Kast has been elected as Chile’s next president.

With more than 99% of polling stations counted, Kast took 58.16% of the vote, against 41.84% for the leftist Jeannette Jara, a former labour minister under the current president, Gabriel Boric.

The son of a Nazi party member, an admirer of the dictator Augusto Pinochet and a staunch Catholic known for opposing abortion and same-sex marriage, Kast built his campaign on a promise to expel tens of thousands of undocumented migrants.

“Here, no individual won, no party won – Chile won, and hope won. The hope of living without fear. That fear that torments families,” Kast told the thousands of supporters who waited more than two hours for his speech.

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