In the presidential election held in Chile on the 16th (local time), no candidate secured a majority, sending far-right and left-wing contenders to a runoff next month. As the far-right candidate campaigning on anti-immigration policies is viewed as likely to win the runoff, Chile is expected to join the Latin American rightward shift known as ‘Blue Tide’.

The Associated Press reported that Communist Party of Chile candidate Hianette Jara received 26.76%, while Republican Party candidate Jose Antonio Kast took 23.97%. President Gabriel Boric said in a statement, “Both candidates have advanced to the runoff,” and offered congratulations.

Chile uses a two-round system in which, if no one wins an outright majority, the winner is decided in a runoff. The runoff will be held on the 14th of next month. Experts see strong prospects for the far-right Kast in the runoff, as voters who supported the third- and fourth-place conservative candidates are expected to cast their ballots for him.

Kast has drawn support by pledging a tough response to crime and immigration. In recent years, Chile has seen immigration surge, including the arrival of more than 500,000 Venezuelans, making it a central political issue. Kast has also promised to build a barrier along the northern border to block migrants, a proposal compared with the immigration policy of U.S. President Donald Trump. Some of his supporters wore MAGA·Make America Great Again hats at campaign rallies.

Jara, who served as minister of labor and social security in the Boric administration, pursued policies such as raising the minimum wage, expanding pensions, and reducing the workweek. She has pledged to tackle the economic crisis by guaranteeing a monthly ‘subsistence income’ of about $800 (1,200,000 KRW) through state subsidies and increases to the minimum wage. The New York Times noted, “The fact that two candidates from opposite ends of the political spectrum will face off in the runoff shows the severity of polarization in Chile.”

Some analysts say the compulsory voting system Chile introduced in 2023 also influenced the result. Voters who do not cast a ballot must pay a fine of $100 (150,000 KRW). Experts say that the system brought in voters with weak ideological identities and little interest in politics, making it harder to predict how people would vote.

Recently across Latin America, the earlier ‘Pink Tide’ of center-left governments has ebbed, and a ‘Blue Tide’ of right-wing rule has been spreading. In the past few years, right-wing parties have also taken power in countries such as Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, and Paraguay.