Jeannette Jara, presidential candidate of the ruling leftist-coalition and member of the Communist Party, reacts as she lines up to vote in the presidential election, in Santiago, Chile, on Sunday.
SANTIAGO--Governing coalition candidate Jeannette Jara held a narrow lead in Chile's first-round presidential vote on Sunday, signalling a strong challenge from far-right rival Jose Antonio Kast and underscoring deep political divisions.
With more than half of the ballots tallied, Jara, the first Communist Party member to be a finalist for the Chilean presidency, was holding 27% of the vote versus 24% for Kast.
A December 14 runoff will pit two ideological extremes against each other, as voters prioritizecrime and immigration over the progressive reforms that defined the last election. Jara will face an uphill battle in which her rivals are throwing support around Kast, founder of the far-right Republican Party, making a right-wing victory increasingly likely.
Chile’s rightward tilt mirrors recent leftist defeats across Latin America and signals growing momentum for conservative candidates in Colombia, Peru and Brazil, where security fears dominate campaigns. Eight candidates appeared on Sunday's ballot, but would have needed to get 50% plus one vote to win the election outright.
Franco Parisi, of the center-right Party of the People who proposed installing land mines along parts of the northern border to deter migrants, bucked poll estimates by landing in third place.Libertarian congressman Johannes Kaiser, who had looked in contention to be the conservative standard-bearer, said he would support Kast, while moderate-right politician Evelyn Matthei stood next to Kast as he spoke to supporters after the vote.
The dominance of law-and-order issues has marked a drastic change from the wave of left-wing optimism and hopes of drafting a new constitution that brought current President Gabriel Boric, who isn't allowed to run for reelection, to power. In a shift from the previous election, voting was mandatory for Chile's 15.7 million registered voters.
Jara, 51, was Boric's labour minister and beat a crowded primary field in June to become the government's coalition candidate. She has touted accomplishments including passing a long-awaited pension reform and increasing the minimum wage, but has also faced criticism for a sticky unemployment rate which currently stands at 8.5%.
She has downplayed her Communist Party ties and vowed to represent a broad left-wing coalition, presenting proposals such as increasing the minimum wage while boosting funding for social welfare and health care.Jara also has proposed strengthening gun controls, increasing technological surveillance on the border and lifting banking secrecy laws to pursue organized crime groups.
This is Kast's second presidential runoff after facing off against Boric. The far-right candidate has built his platform around clamping down on crime and immigration.
He's proposed building a border wall with trenches, kicking out all undocumented migrants and deploying the military to high-crime neighborhoods.He addressed security when he returned to his hometown of Paine south of Santiago to vote."You can ask all the neighbors, even in a small town ... whether they feel safe or not. And most people will tell you they are afraid."
