Leftist leader Jara seeks to counter far-right politician Kast.
On Tuesday night, progressive presidential candidate Jeannette Jara and far-right contender Jose Antonio Kast will participate in the final debate before Sunday’s runoff, which will determine who succeeds Chilean President Gabriel Boric.
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Although the Communist politician won the first round with 26.9% of the vote, it is the ultraconservative candidate who enters Sunday’s election in a stronger position.
According to the latest polls, Kast would secure more than 50% of the vote, boosted by support from those who cast ballots for former right-wing candidate Evelyn Matthei and far-right former candidate Johannes Kaiser.
The final stretch of the campaign has taken on a more confrontational tone than the earlier phase but has kept security and migration—Chileans’ top concerns—as the central issues, with controversial proposals such as Kast’s threat to expel the country’s 330,000 irregular migrants.
Former Labor Minister Jara, who leads an unprecedented coalition ranging from Christian Democrats to the Communist Party, has sought to win over undecided voters who do not want to support the far right but remain hesitant about her candidacy.
Ahora que José Kast salió a cuestionar porque le dicen el “Nazi”, hay que recordar que gracias a una investigación de la Deutsche Welle supimos que su papá estaba inscrito en el partido nazi de Alemania…
y ahora viene la mejor parte…Resulta que su mamá también era nazi… pic.twitter.com/COjy733LIu
— H (@hernan_sr) December 1, 2025
The text reads, “Now that Jose Kast has come out questioning why he’s called a ‘Nazi,’ it’s worth remembering that thanks to a Deutsche Welle investigation, we learned that his father was a member of the Nazi party in Germany. And now for the best part: it turns out his mother was also a Nazi. How did we find this out? A few days ago, we received some files that are part of an investigation conducted by ‘Department 50’ of the former Chilean Investigative Police (PDI), to dismantle a ring of Nazi spies operating in Chile. Upon verifying the photos in a public archive of the Chilean National Archives, on sheet 10, there’s a photo of a Nazi meeting here in Chile. In the background, there’s a woman with a mark made by the same investigation department that says ‘Mrs. Kast.’ Obviously, Kast’s team doesn’t want this photo to go viral, but you know what to do. I’m including the link to the Chilean National Archives so no one can claim it’s fake or AI-generated.”
A decisive group that could challenge Kast’s potential majority consists of voters who backed former candidate Franco Parisi, a right-wing populist who won 19% of the vote. However, his supporters decided in a contentious internal consultation to cast blank or null ballots in the runoff.
The electoral campaign ends Dec. 11, and large closing rallies are scheduled this week in Santiago for the main candidates. More than 15.6 million voters are called to participate in a presidential election with mandatory voting.
The president elected on Sunday will take office on March 11, 2026, and will face a legislature in which decisions could be driven by an alliance of right-wing, far-right and right-populist forces.
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Chile: Human Rights Defenders condemned the proposal by far-right presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast to release prisoners convicted for crimes against humanity. pic.twitter.com/HYQUSYR2k5
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 8, 2025
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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