By Sarah Morland
SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Chileans will head to the ballot box on Sunday to elect a new president in a vote that is pitting the governing leftist coalition against an array of right-wing candidates at a time when crime and immigration are at the top of voters’ minds.
This will be Chile’s first presidential election since 2012 where voting will be mandatory – those who do not vote face a fine.
The country of some 16 million voters saw an abstention rate of 53% in the first round of its 2021 presidential election, and the large amount of apathetic or undecided residents set to cast ballots adds a wild card to Sunday’s vote.
None of the eight candidates in the running are expected to reach the majority needed to win outright, likely triggering a run-off election on December 14.
Here’s what’s at stake and who’s in the running to be Chile’s next president:
JEANNETTE JARA
Jara, 51, is a member of the Communist Party and coalition candidate for the current administration. Jara is leading the polls and is expected to progress to a run-off, but she faces obstacles including the unpopularity of current President Gabriel Boric, who isn’t allowed to run for consecutive reelection, and her Communist Party membership.
The former labor minister is seeking to boost minimum wages, shore up workers’ rights and boost the lithium industry. She has also highlighted the importance of security, pledging to build new prisons and modernize the police.
JOSE ANTONIO KAST
Kast, 59, is a lawyer and three-time presidential candidate who lost the 2021 run-off to Boric. Founder of the far-right Republican Party, Kast has put immigration and security at the top of his agenda with proposals to mass deport undocumented migrants, and add maximum security prisons.
The son of a German army lieutenant who fled to South America after World War Two, his father’s Nazi Party membership undermined him last race as well as his brother’s minister role during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.
JOHANNES KAISER
Kaiser, 49, shares Kast’s German-Chilean heritage, education in law and was once a member of his Republican Party, before breaking off to form the National Libertarian Party.
The congressman, who rose to fame as a YouTuber, would close the border with Bolivia, deport undocumented migrants with criminal records to El Salvador, slash spending and dramatically reduce the size of the state. Kaiser would also leave the regional human rights court and Paris Agreement to fight climate change.
EVELYN MATTHEI
Matthei, 72, is a moderate-right conservative who was an early frontrunner but has since dipped in the polls.
An economist, former mayor and labor minister, this is Matthei’s second presidential run after losing with 38% to the Socialist Party’s Michelle Bachelet in 2013.
THE LEGISLATURE AND RUN-OFF SCENARIO
Polls show Jara and Kast are the most likely to advance to the December vote, with Kast and other right-wing candidates favored to beat Jara in a run-off.
The December race will also have a new legislative composition. Chile’s governing leftist coalition has a minority in both chambers of Congress and the entire 155-member lower house and 23 of the country’s 50 Senate seats are up for grabs.
If Chile’s right wins the presidency and control of both legislatures, it would be the first time since the end of the Pinochet dictatorship in 1990 that the right would control all three.
If the right-wing coalition achieves a four-sevenths majority in both chambers – 89 in Congress and 29 in the Senate – it would be able to pass through constitutional reforms.
WHAT ABOUT MINING?
Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and second-largest lithium producer and candidates share broad support for the sector. Jara has said she would push state-run copper giant Codelco to take an even bigger role in lithium while Kast has said he would audit the company at the start of his presidency.
Mining companies are pressing candidates to streamline environmental permitting so they can more quickly expand their mines and boost production.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland, Fabian Cambero, Natalia Ramos; Additional reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Alexander Villegas and Diane Craft)
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