A hard-right former lawmaker and admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump appeared poised to win a polarizing presidential runoff against a member of Chile’s Communist Party representing the incumbent government next month. José Antonio Kast, an ultraconservative lawyer, secured nearly 24% of the vote in Sunday’s first round of presidential elections. He campaigned on plans to to crack down on crime, build a giant border wall and deport tens of thousands of undocumented migrants. Jeannette Jara, a former labor minister in President Gabriel Boric’s left-wing government, secured 27% of the vote. Some 70% of Chilean voters supported Kast and other hard-line conservatives on Sunday as many worry about organized crime, illegal immigration and unemployment.
