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Chile Picks José Antonio Kast in a 20-Point Runoff Blowout, Turning the Page on the Boric Era

Chile Picks José Antonio Kast in a 20-Point Runoff Blowout, Turning the Page on the Boric Era

Rule Changes
By Newzino Staff | |

A security-and-migration election ends with the hard right winning big—and inheriting a divided Congress.

January 20th, 2026: Kast announces full cabinet of 24 ministers

Overview

Chile's presidential race ended decisively on December 14 when José Antonio Kast defeated Jeannette Jara by about 20 points in the runoff. The country chose a mood: fear of crime and anger over disorder. Now, two months before his March 11 inauguration, Kast has unveiled a 24-minister cabinet dominated by technocrats and independents rather than party loyalists—a signal that he intends to govern pragmatically despite his hardline campaign rhetoric.

Kast's cabinet prioritizes security and economic recovery, with key appointments including Trinidad Steinert as Public Security Minister and Jorge Quiroz as Finance Minister. But he still faces a Congress that can slow him down: his coalition holds only 76 of 155 Chamber seats and 25 of 50 Senate seats, meaning deals—not slogans—will decide what he can actually pass. The next test comes at inauguration, when he must translate his mandate into legislative reality.

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Key Indicators

58.2%
Kast's final runoff vote share
Final SERVEL tally: 7.2 million votes, the highest total in Chilean history.
41.8%
Jara's final runoff vote share
Jara conceded as the gap widened in the early official count.
≈16 pts
Final runoff margin
Second-highest margin since Chile's transition to democracy—a clear mandate, if Kast can translate it into legislation.
15,779,102
Registered electorate
Compulsory voting at home expands turnout—and makes outcomes less predictable.
76/155
Right-coalition Chamber seats
Kast's Republican Party and allies lack a majority, forcing coalition-building.
25/50
Right-coalition Senate seats
Senate evenly divided; People's Party holds balance of power.

People Involved

José Antonio Kast
José Antonio Kast
President-elect of Chile; leader of the Republican Party (Won the 2025 runoff; prepares to take office March 11, 2026)
Jeannette Jara
Jeannette Jara
Left coalition presidential candidate; former labor minister (Conceded defeat in the runoff)
Gabriel Boric
Gabriel Boric
Outgoing President of Chile (Term-limited; oversees transition to the next government)
Franco Parisi
Franco Parisi
Populist outsider candidate; leader of Party of the People (Finished third in the first round; declined to endorse either finalist)
Pamela Figueroa
Pamela Figueroa
President of SERVEL’s governing council (Oversaw election administration and result reporting)

Organizations Involved

Servicio Electoral de Chile (SERVEL)
Servicio Electoral de Chile (SERVEL)
Electoral authority
Status: Runs the election, publishes preliminary results, and certifies official tallies

Chile’s election referee: it runs the vote, counts the vote, and makes the results official.

Partido Republicano (Chile)
Partido Republicano (Chile)
Political Party
Status: Kast’s party and the engine of the hard-right campaign

The hard-right vehicle that carried Kast from perennial contender to president-elect.

Unidad por Chile
Unidad por Chile
Governing coalition
Status: Backed Jara; loses the presidency after four years in power

The left coalition that tried to defend its reform agenda in a country pivoting to security.

Partido Comunista de Chile
Partido Comunista de Chile
Political Party
Status: Jara’s home party; lightning rod in the runoff messaging war

A historic party that became the runoff’s easiest label—and its hardest burden.

Partido de la Gente (Chile)
Partido de la Gente (Chile)
Political Party
Status: Third-force bloc whose voters and lawmakers can tip close votes in Congress

A populist swing bloc that thrives on voter disgust with both extremes.

Timeline

  1. Kast announces full cabinet of 24 ministers

    Administration

    President-elect Kast unveils his cabinet, with 16 of 24 ministers being non-party members and independents. Key appointments include Claudio Alvarado (Interior), Trinidad Steinert (Public Security), Jorge Quiroz (Finance), and Fernando Rabat (Justice). The cabinet is characterized as technocratic and pro-business, signaling a pragmatic governing approach focused on security and economic recovery.

  2. Kast tells investors cabinet will be announced January 20

    Statement

    President-elect Kast confirms to Chilean business leaders that he will announce his full cabinet on January 20, declining to reveal names but noting he was joined by "several people who are going to help us in the future."

  3. Kast taps Jorge Quiroz as finance minister

    Administration

    President-elect Kast selects economist Jorge Quiroz, his top adviser, as finance minister according to reports in Diario Financiero—the first cabinet appointment revealed ahead of the official announcement.

  4. Boric and Kast meet at La Moneda to begin transition

    Administration

    President Boric and president-elect Kast meet the day after the election to prepare for the transfer of power. Kast emphasizes his plans for a "government of national unity on priority issues: security, health, education, and housing."

  5. Polls close; count begins fast

    Election

    With a single ballot in the runoff, counting moves quickly after polls close and data transmission begins.

  6. Kast wins the presidency

    Result

    Early official results show José Antonio Kast defeating Jeannette Jara 59.16% to 40.84%, and Jara concedes.

  7. SERVEL pushes compulsory-vote reminder nationwide

    Administration

    SERVEL sends an SMS campaign reminding domestic voters the runoff is compulsory and logistics are unchanged.

  8. Parisi refuses to pick a side

    Statement

    Third-place finisher Franco Parisi declines to endorse either finalist, leaving his voters up for grabs.

  9. First round splits Chile; runoff locked in

    Election

    No candidate reaches 50%, sending Jara and Kast into a December 14 runoff under compulsory voting rules.

  10. Jara wins the governing coalition’s primary

    Campaign

    Jeannette Jara wins the Unidad por Chile primary, becoming the left’s standard-bearer for November.

Scenarios

1

Kast Governs From the Right—but Cuts Deals to Pass a Security Package

Discussed by: Reuters; AP; AS/COA analysts on the feasibility of enforcement-heavy agendas without a congressional majority

Kast treats his margin as a mandate, then quickly pivots to transactional governing: a high-visibility security bill, targeted border measures, and prison capacity expansion that moderates can vote for. The trigger is political math—he lacks a free hand in Congress—so he prioritizes what can pass and what can be implemented administratively. Success would look like early wins that lower public anxiety, even if the most radical promises (mass deportations at scale, sweeping institutional changes) get trimmed into something legislatively survivable.

2

Congress Blocks the Agenda; Kast’s Mandate Turns Into Gridlock

Discussed by: Reuters and AP reporting on divided institutions; domestic political coverage emphasizing a fragmented legislature

Kast arrives with maximalist expectations and meets the limits of Chile’s system: committees stall bills, centrists demand concessions, and the “quick fixes” on crime prove slower than campaign rhetoric. The trigger is overreach—pushing polarizing social or constitutional changes alongside security measures—causing potential allies to peel away. The storyline becomes not “iron fist,” but “can he govern,” and the opposition re-forms around institutional checks rather than ideology.

3

A Hardline Crackdown Sparks Legal Challenges—and Street Politics Returns

Discussed by: AP reporting on dictatorship-era sensitivities and expanded military/police powers; human-rights observers and legal analysts in Chilean media

Kast uses executive authority aggressively—stronger military presence, stricter enforcement, faster deportation procedures—prompting court challenges, international scrutiny, and domestic protests. The trigger is an incident: a high-profile operation, a rights-abuse allegation, or a policy that hits migrant communities visibly. The backlash doesn’t have to be a 2019-scale uprising to matter; even sustained mobilization could force political retreat, fracture governing coalitions, and re-center the question Chile has never fully escaped: how far “order” can go without reopening old wounds.

Historical Context

Chile’s 2021 runoff: Boric defeats Kast

2021-11 to 2021-12

What Happened

Kast reached the runoff before and lost to Gabriel Boric in a high-turnout, high-stakes second round. The country framed the choice as democracy versus authoritarian nostalgia, then quickly shifted into governing arguments about reforms and security.

Outcome

Short Term

Boric took office with a reform mandate but faced fast-rising insecurity concerns.

Long Term

By 2025, voter priorities had pivoted sharply toward order, enabling Kast’s return.

Why It's Relevant Today

It shows how fast Chile’s electorate can swing—and how security can rewrite ideology.

Chile’s 2019 social uprising and the promise of a new political model

2019-10 to 2020-10

What Happened

Mass protests over inequality and the cost of living shook the state and forced a constitutional process. Politics became about legitimacy, rights, and rebuilding social contracts.

Outcome

Short Term

A constitutional path opened and redefined the left’s narrative of change.

Long Term

As constitutional efforts stalled and insecurity rose, “change” lost to “order” as the organizing theme.

Why It's Relevant Today

The 2025 election is the backlash chapter: voters choosing control after years of turbulence.

Chile’s rejected constitutional plebiscites

2022-09 to 2023-12

What Happened

Chile rejected successive constitutional proposals, signaling fatigue with grand rewrites and distrust of political elites across factions. The failures hardened polarization and weakened the idea that institutional redesign would solve daily problems.

Outcome

Short Term

Reform coalitions fragmented and political cynicism deepened.

Long Term

Elections became less about utopias and more about fear, safety, and competence claims.

Why It's Relevant Today

It explains why a security-first candidate could win big even in a post-authoritarian democracy.

21 Sources:
+15
Reuters AP News El País (Chile) AS/COA Servicio Electoral de Chile (SERVEL) CNN Chile Euronews Bloomberg Reuters/Investing.com Al Jazeera Wikipedia Atlantic Council Americas Quarterly El País Buenos Aires Herald Servicio Electoral de Chile (SERVEL) AP News Servicio Electoral de Chile (SERVEL) Bloomberg Wikipedia AS/COA