Chile president-elect dials down right-wing rhetoric

SANTIAGO

Chilean President-elect Jose Antonio Kast greets supporters at La Moneda palace after meeting with President Gabriel Boric the day after he won the presidential election runoff in Santiago, Chile, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Chile's next president jettisoned his typical far-right anti-migrant rhetoric on Dec. 15 and vowed to lead a government of "national unity" despite a landslide election victory.

Meeting the outgoing leftist president Gabriel Boric and rival party leaders, Jose Antonio Kast pledged to work for all Chileans when he takes office in March.

"We all share concerns about security, health, education and housing," the 59-year-old father of nine said.

On the campaign trail, Kast promised to deport more than 300,000 mostly Venezuelan migrants, to tackle crime and to secure the northern border.

But since winning against a leftist rival on Dec. 14, he has struck a more conciliatory tone.

"This is not one person's or one party's government. It will be broader to achieve consensus on fundamental issues," he said.

He won the backing of 58 percent of voters, in what could have been interpreted as a thumping mandate for radical change.

Amid fears about his past support for the blood-soaked dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Kast also spoke about democracy and the need to "safeguard" institutions.

Despite his politics, he told Chileans, there would be "continuity of the state, continuity of its institutions, continuity of public service, and continuity of the democratic order."

While Chilean voters are often asked to choose between radical left and right alternatives, the country has proven itself to be centrist.

Chileans have alternated between left and right governments at every election since 2010.