Chile Heads to First-Round Vote With Right-Wing Lead and Security Fears at Fore

Overview

• Voters go to the polls on November 16 to choose a president, with a likely December 14 runoff if no candidate wins outright.
• Pre-blackout polling averages put José Antonio Kast in front and showed right-of-centre contenders approaching half of voter intent.
• Right-wing platforms escalate migrant-control plans, including detention camps, mass deportations, border walls and trenches, and even landmines detailed by rivals Johannes Kaiser and Franco Parisi.
• Left candidate Jeannette Jara, a Communist and former labor minister, stresses tougher policing and border controls but confronts headwinds linked to her party affiliation.
• Chile votes under compulsory participation with automatic registration as crime concerns rise and official data show about 1.9 million foreign residents, including roughly 337,000 without documentation.