Chile spoke —and it did so strongly. With almost 60% of the votes, José Antonio Kast won the presidential runoff against Jeannette Jara and became the elected president of the country. The leader of the Republican Party will replace Gabriel Boric in La Moneda Palace starting on March 11, 2026, in an election marked by mandatory voting, high participation, and a polarization that permeated the entire campaign.
The result not only defines a winner: it redefines the Chilean political climate.
Who is José Antonio Kast?
José Antonio Kast is a lawyer, former deputy, and one of the most persistent figures of contemporary Chilean right-wing politics. This was his third presidential candidacy. In 2021, he lost the runoff against Boric, but instead of withdrawing, he rebuilt his political space, founded and consolidated the Republican Party, and waited for his moment.
That moment came with a tired country: perceived insecurity on the rise, a migration crisis, economic slowdown, and an outgoing government with low approval ratings. Kast read that context with surgical precision.
Ideologically, he positions himself on a conservative right, emphasizing order, security, market, and traditional values. However, unlike previous campaigns, he moderated his tone. He lowered the volume of the "cultural battle," avoided promises of immediate shocks, and appeared more presidential. He did not change his ideas; he changed his strategy. And it worked.
An election marked by frustration
The runoff was not just Kast against Jara. It was continuity versus a change of sign. The ruling party attempted to broaden its base with discursive shifts towards more conservative positions but arrived too late and with little margin. The wear and tear of Boric's government weighed more than any campaign adjustment.
Kast, on the other hand, managed to unify the traditional right, attract disenchanted sectors, and capitalize on part of the protest vote. The unknowns of the People's Party electorate ultimately played, directly or indirectly, in his favor.
The axes were clear: security, migration, and economy. Simple, concrete, everyday issues. When politics become abstract, fear is often more effective than epic. Kast understood that better than anyone.
Security and migration: the core of victory
Although the data shows a sustained drop in the homicide rate, social perception goes in the opposite direction. And in politics, perception rules. Kast built his narrative on that discomfort: more control, firmer borders, expulsions, order.
In immigration, he targeted a deep wound. The massive entry—both regular and irregular—of foreigners, especially from Venezuela, became a sensitive issue. He promised a tough approach and quick solutions, a message that resonated in broad sectors of society.
It’s no coincidence: when the state seems to lose control, the electorate tends to seek authority.
The new political scenario: governing won’t be easy
The victory is clear, but real power will be more complex. Congress remains fragmented, with tight majorities and key players like the People's Party, which promises a tough and uncompromising opposition.
Chile also has demanding rules: broad consensus is needed for structural reforms. Kast will have to negotiate, compromise, and manage expectations. His greatest challenge will not be winning elections—that he has already done—but demonstrating that he can govern without deepening divides.
Foreign policy and Argentina: initial signals
In international matters, Kast has already made a definition: he will seek a fluid relationship with Argentina and highlighted his bond with Javier Milei. It is a clear political signal, although still vague in content. The question is not whether there will be good personal harmony but whether there will be strategic coordination in an unstable regional context.
A clear victory, an open future
The victory of José Antonio Kast is not an accident nor a bolt from a clear sky. It is the result of a political cycle that is winding down, of unmet social demands, and of a right that learned from its mistakes.
Chile chose order over uncertainty. Now comes the hard part: transforming promises into policies, firmness into governability, and discourse into results. Recent history shows that winning clearly does not guarantee successful governance.
The turn has been made. The outcome, still, is yet to be written.
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