"Chileans are set to vote in a closely watched presidential election run-off on Sunday, with pre-poll surveys showing far-right opposition candidate Jose Antonio Kast leading over his centre-left rival, Jeannette Jara. Kast, who considers United States President Donald Trump a role model, has made crime and undocumented migration a centrepiece of his campaign. He has promised to launch mass deportations and initiate a sweeping law-and-order agenda as part of his rhetoric to Make Chile Great Again."
"Jara, the candidate for the governing left-wing coalition, was narrowly ahead of Kast in the first round last month. The 51-year-old had garnered nearly 27 percent of the vote against Kast, in second place with 24 percent of the votes. Kast, the 59-year-old Republican Party leader, has been able to mobilise the votes of the defeated opponents from the right-wing camp, making him the favourite going into Sunday's run-off."
"Analysts fear Kast's victory could change the country's political course for the first time since a return to democracy 35 years ago. Chileans have long prided themselves on keeping far-right politics at bay after the end of the military government of Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s and 80s. In his youth, Kast was a keen supporter of Pinochet. Yet frustration runs deep among voters, many of whom feel unrepresented by either finalist."
Chileans are voting in a presidential run-off with far-right Jose Antonio Kast leading pre-poll surveys over centre-left Jeannette Jara. Kast frames crime and undocumented migration as central issues, pledging mass deportations and a sweeping law-and-order agenda while citing Donald Trump as a role model. Jara, a former labour minister from the governing left-wing coalition and member of the Communist Party, narrowly led in the first round and backed flagship welfare reforms but has struggled to shift the debate. Right-wing consolidation and widespread voter frustration raise concerns about a major political shift since the return to democracy.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]