Chile's presidential election will go to a run-off vote in December between a Communist Party and a far-right candidate, after a first round on Sunday produced no outright winner.
The election campaign was dominated by crime and immigration, as the flow of people into the country has recently grown, while candidates pledged to fight foreign gangs like Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.
The Communist Party's Jeannette Jara, from the governing coalition, narrowly won the first round, followed closely by far-right rival José Antonio Kast.
The result is expected to give a boost to Kast, as Jara was the only left-wing candidate running against several right-wing candidates, splitting the right-wing vote.
In the 14 December run-off, voters will have to coalesce around one of these two candidates.
Kast is expected to pick up votes from other candidates who did not make the final two, including the centre-right Senator Evelyn Matthei and the radical libertarian Congressman Johannes Kaiser.
If he wins, it would make Chile the latest country in Latin America to shift to the right.
Kast is a conservative lawyer and former congressman who lost the 2021 election's run-off to President Gabriel Boric. This marks his third presidential run.
The father of nine has promoted a tough crackdown on immigration, including a Trump-style border wall. He opposes abortion even in cases of rape, has criticized environmental and indigenous activism, and wants to reduce the size of the state.
His brother served as a minister during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, and his father was a member of the Nazi party.
On election night, Kast declared that Chile needs to avoid continuity of a very bad government - perhaps the worst government in the democratic history of Chile.
Jara, a member of the Communist Party, is seen by many as centre-left in practice. She served as a minister in Boric's administration and has promised to increase lithium production, raise the minimum wage, build new prisons, and deploy the army to secure Chile's borders.
As results were coming in, she asserted, Democracy in our country must be taken care of and valued. And it costs us a lot to recover it, today it is at risk.
Both candidates are focusing their platforms on crime and immigration, as organized crime and kidnappings have increased in the country.
Since 2017, Chile's foreign population has surged. The National Migration Service reported that as of December 2023, over 1.9 million foreigners reside in Chile, a rise of over 46% since 2018. Official estimates indicate that at least 330,000 are undocumented migrants.
Kast has attributed rising crime rates to immigration, although studies suggest foreign-born individuals commit fewer crimes on average than native Chileans.
Aiming to position Chile as an appealing destination for migrants, Kast proposes building ditches along the northern border and pushing for mass deportations of undocumented individuals.
He also advocates for constructing new maximum-security prisons, inspired by those in El Salvador.
In contrast, Jara is committed to expelling foreigners convicted of drug trafficking.
This election has marked the first time in Chile's history that all eligible voters are automatically registered and that voting has become mandatory.
