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Chile Heads to the Polls With Jara Leading as Kast Positions for Likely Runoff

Voter focus centers on security, with irregular migration in sharp view.

Overview

  • Fresh polling places Jeannette Jara first for Sunday’s opening round, with analysts expecting a December 14 runoff likely to feature José Antonio Kast.
  • Jara spotlights public safety, economic growth via domestic demand, and health-system strengthening, proposing more police, a census of foreigners, and lifting bank secrecy to target organized crime.
  • Kast intensifies a hard-line platform that links crime to undocumented migration, pledging mass expulsions, a border barrier with a trench, deployment of 3,000 troops, and tougher sentences.
  • A late-campaign surge lifts libertarian Johannes Kaiser into third place near 16% as he backs measures including the death penalty and endorses El Salvador–style crackdowns, while Evelyn Matthei remains in contention.
  • Roughly 15.6–15.7 million Chileans must vote under new compulsory rules, with fines up to $100 for nonparticipation, as officials count about 337,000 undocumented migrants, most from Venezuela.