MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean elections anticipate a shift to the right and a Conservative president

The two leading candidates in the Chilean presidential election, Jeanette Jara and Jose Antonio Kast, scheduled in three weeks-time November 16, have undergone significant falls in their vote intention according to an opinion poll from LatAm Pulse.

The candidate for the ruling coalition, Unity for Chile, former Labor minister and belonging to the Communist party has seen support drop from 38,9% to 32,7%, points out the latest opinion poll, while the solid right candidate Kast has slid from 24.7% to 20,1%. Nevertheless as leading candidates and with percentages far from 50% of votes cast, a December run off is expected with Kast crushing Jara by 47% to 39%.

Obviously Chile has become a highly polarized country with the incumbent candidate promising measures to increase workers’ salaries and improve social services, while Kast anticipates a frontal battle against irregular migration, and deep million dollars cuts in social spending.

Both candidates in recent weeks have experienced stumbles: Ms. Jara had to reorganize its communicational department limiting the number of spokespersons. Her advisors have also recommended to distance herself from extreme left positions, as well as from current president Gabrile Boric, given his very downgraded popularity.

Kast has also had to deal with a controversial column published by one of his campaign advisors arguing the current Chilean government is “full of parasites”. He has also had to anticipate which government ministries, departments, institutions will be exposed to expenditure cuts, if elected.

The poll also showed that another conservative hopeful, Evelyn Matthei, who has strong support from the big corporate class, and rich neighborhoods, but not much more managed to slightly up her support from 11.8% to 13.8%. This means that Matthei, together with two outsiders, Johannes Kaiser and Franco Parisi now have similar support standings, 13.4% and 13.2%.

Meanwhile those interviewed who declared themselves undecided as to whom vote, has climbed from 1.2% to 6.9%. The LatamPulse poll interviewed 2.828 persons in Chile, between 15 and 19 October, with a confidence level of 95% and a plus/minus error margin.