Overview
- José Antonio Kast won the runoff with 58.1% to Jeannette Jara’s 41.8%, prevailing across every region of Chile.
- He is prioritizing public order and tighter immigration controls, often linking foreign gangs to rising crime, and he will assume office on March 11.
- Peru is stepping up border planning and says it will not be a route or destination for expulsions, with coordination between the two countries already in motion.
- Kast’s first trip as president-elect was to Buenos Aires, where he met Javier Milei and signaled alignment on security and migration policy.
- Analysts warn that mass deportations and proposed humanitarian corridors face legal, logistical and diplomatic hurdles, and Kast must navigate a fragmented Congress even as his win fits a broader conservative surge in 2025 Latin America.