Overview
- Voters go to the polls Sunday with surveys indicating no candidate will secure an outright majority, making a December 14 runoff likely.
- Jeannette Jara of the Communist Party is projected to reach the second round but faces forecasts of a difficult path against a unified right.
- Right-leaning contenders José Antonio Kast, Johannes Kaiser and Evelyn Matthei center campaigns on crime and border policy, with Matthei saying criminals would face “prison or the cemetery.”
- Analysts note migration and public safety dominate the campaign after migrant numbers roughly doubled from 2017 to 2024 and new organized crime groups gained a foothold.
- Observers highlight far-right alignments and authoritarian rhetoric, citing Kast’s ties to Milei, Bolsonaro, Vox and AfD, Kaiser’s praise for the 1973 coup, and Matthei’s family link to the Pinochet junta.