Kast’s win marks return of rightwing gov’t to Chile
Monday, December 15th 2025 – 10:57 UTC
I will be the president of all Chileans, without exception, Kast underlined in his victory message
Rightwing candidate José Antonio Kast has been elected the next President of Chile, securing an overwhelming victory in Sunday’s runoff with nearly 59% of the vote against the Communist Jeannete Jara’s leftwing coalition’s 41%.
According to data released by the Chilean Electoral Service (Servel), Kast’s advantage of almost 20 percentage points became unsurmountable, prompting a congratulations call from incumbent President Gabriel Boric Font and a similar message from other world leaders, as well as from Jara.
Democracy has spoken loud and clear. I have just spoken to the president-elect to wish him success for the good of Chile, Jara stated on social media.
Kast, a 59-year-old ultra-Catholic lawyer and former congressman, will become the first politician with open ties to the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) regime to assume the presidency since the return to democracy, aligning Chile with a global trend of strengthening far-right leaders.
The winner is set to take office on March 11, 2026, with plans to immediately implement a hardline agenda focusing on security and a program of neoliberal fiscal austerity.
His signature campaign promise is the establishment of an emergency government to aggressively combat what he terms Chile’s security crisis, including crackdowns on organized crime and irregular migration.
In his victory speech from Republican Party headquarters, Kast affirmed that his emergency government would be defined by priority, urgency, and compliance, not authoritarianism.
Addressing his supporters, President-elect Kast acknowledged the strong mandate received and called on the opposition to collaborate in tackling national crises.
We are going to face many difficulties, and we need real contributions. We need the collaboration and contributions of each and every one of you, Kast said. Criticism is achieved through dialogue and common sense, with a broad vision, and that is what we ask of our opposition.
Kast stressed that his presidency would be for all citizens: I will be the president of all Chileans, without exception… to face the emergencies and the crisis we are facing today, we need everyone.
He emphasized the people’s desire for a new direction: Chile wants change, it does not want continuity, and it has said so loud and clear on several occasions. And I want to tell you that yes, Chile is going to have a real change that you will begin to see soon.
Meanwhile, Boric stressed the strength of Chilean democratic institutions and called for national unity. We have a democracy that allows us to make decisions, that allows us to resolve our differences, that has healthy checks and balances, he pointed out.
On March 11, we will deliver a country on the move, a country with tremendous potential that everyone has the right to be proud of, he added.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Kast and insisted that Washington looked forward to partnering with the new administration to strengthen regional security and revitalize our trade relationship.
Argentine President Javier Milei expressed his joy over the overwhelming victory, calling it Another step forward for our region in defense of life, liberty, and private property.
