Around 15.6 million voters are called to vote in an election in which the left appears in the lead, but the ultra-right gains strength driven by security; For the first time, voting will be mandatory, with a fine of up to 100 dollars (R$527, at the current exchange rate)
Chileans go to the polls this Sunday (16) to elect the country’s new president, in an election that marks yet another confrontation between the left and the extreme right and the search for tranquility in a country distressed by crime. Although the homicide rate has tripled in the last decade (from 2.5 to 6.7 per 100,000 inhabitants), it is below the region’s average of 15 homicides per 100,000, according to the latest UN data. Most associate the increase in violence with irregular immigration. THE has become an important destination for immigrants, mainly from Venezuela, who enter the country via the northern border with Bolivia and Peru, a region where the government of sent the Army in early 2022.
The migrant population doubled in seven years in Chile and reached 8.8% of the total in 2024 in this country of 20 million inhabitants, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE). Foreigners in an irregular situation, around 337 thousand, most of them Venezuelans, are in the crosshairs of the right that is competing with the center-left in this Sunday’s general elections. It has the second highest proportion of foreign residents in Latin America, after Costa Rica, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The leftist, who leads the polls, promises to maintain a relationship based on “pragmatism and mutual respect” with the government of, unlike her opponent, the ultra-rightist who presents himself as a close ally of Trump, whose influence in Latin America is on the rise. Behind are two right-wing candidates, Johannes Kaiser and Evelyn Matthei. Searches have been suspended since November 2nd.
The relationship between the Chilean left and the United States was tense for decades due to Washington’s support for the 1973 coup d’état against socialist president Salvador Allende. More than 3,000 people were murdered and tens of thousands were arrested and tortured during Augusto Pinochet’s regime, which lasted from 1973 to 1990. However, today, the United States is Chile’s second largest trading partner.
Despite appearing first in the polls, Jara’s percentage is not enough to make her win in the first round and succeed President Gabriel Boric, which would force Chileans to return to the polls on December 14th to choose between Jara and Cast. According to the polls, the person who would win in a new round of voting is the far-right candidate, as they would add the votes of the other three right-wing candidates: Evelyn Matthei, Johannes Kaiser and Franco Parisi. Around 15.6 million voters are called to the polls. For the first time, voting will be mandatory, with a fine of up to 100 dollars (R$527, at the current exchange rate).
