Voting centers have been closed and the country is preparing for a radical change at the Palacio de La Moneda

The intrigue is nearing its end. Chileans voted this Sunday from 8 a.m. and polling stations have already closed, although in some places there were still queues to mark the ballot. Probably before 8 p.m. There will be a clear trend that will allow us to confirm who will govern the country from March 11: the ruling party Jeannette Jara or the ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast.

Although all polls predict a victory for the far-right leader, it is not clear how big the gap will be, a fact that analysts are looking at closely here because it will shape the pulse of the next government. The first media forecasts, which have not yet been officially confirmed, speak of a broad victory for the extreme right, which would mark a historic turnaround in the country since the end of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.

Despite winning the first round of voting in November with 26.9% of the vote, Jara has little room for growth. Political observers say the unpopularity of Gabriel Boric’s government and its communist militancy have made it difficult for her to win new votes, despite her attempts to appeal to fear of the far right and defend her leadership over symbolic legislation such as increasing the minimum wage, pension reform or shortening the working day to 40 hours when she was labor minister in the current government.

Kast, meanwhile, came in second with 23.9%, a difference of less than 400,000 votes in a universe of nearly 13 million voters. But on the same evening of the first round, the chairman of the Republican Party already received the unconditional support of the traditional right and another, even more radical extreme right, winning more than 50%.

Although Kast practically considers himself a winner, he definitely admits it It won’t be easy to govern and that from the first moment he must negotiate with the other right-wing political forces that supported him after the first round in November.

Evelyn Matthei, leader of the moderate right, and Johannes Kaiser of the more radical and libertarian wing came fourth and fifth in the November 16 election and expressed their support for Kast that same evening. Now everyone here is waiting for signs that Kast will add names to his team that come from those other two areas.

Kast voted minutes before 10 a.m. this Sunday at the Ana María Mogas school in Paine, about 40 kilometers from Santiago, where he lives. There he spoke to the press amid a crowd of supporters.

“We appeal for unity to move forward. And legislative unity is also needed,” Kast said. He knows he will be confronted too a fragmented parliament in which you have to negotiate to be able to implement its promised projects to combat crime and curb irregular immigration.

“Whoever wins has an enormous responsibility for all the issues that concern and concern us. They have no political color. We can have differences on all issues, but the citizens do not have to be influenced by these differences,” said the candidate, who had already announced himself as the future president at the end of the election campaign, confident of the poll forecasts.

However, he tried to lower expectations of his government promises He warned that he could not quickly solve the country’s problems although this, along with the creation of a “national emergency” executive, was the core of his electoral program to transform Chile and rescue it from the major crisis in which he believes the country is mired.

Kast also promised to maintain “best relations” with neighboring countries, especially with Argentine President Javier Milei, whom he praised and with whom he said he shared “dreams,” strategies and policies.

Jeannette Jara, for her part, voted shortly after noon in the municipality of Conchalí, where she spent much of her life. And despite the unfavorable prognosis for her, she tried to appear confident.

“What interests me is the future of Chile and the next four years. And what I can tell you is that Chile has great opportunities both to combat organized crime, accelerate investment and stimulate growth, and to combat direct drug trafficking, corruption and economic collusion that harm citizens,” he explained.

The candidate, a member of the Communist Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, emphasized the unity of the center-left coalition that elected her in the primaries and chose to maintain that unity in both possible victory and eventual defeat.

“As I hope that we will win the elections tonight, my first call is that the coalition, with its teams, its technicians, its specialists and its politicians, make itself available immediately. Also because the government of Chile is a big team task and, as I said, it is not enough just to criticize the other. For me, having worked in governments, it is about building, not destroying. Fighting everything doesn’t work,” he concluded.

President Boric had previously voted in Punta Arenas, in the far south of the country. After his last election as president, he called for people to defend democracy in the country.

“Democracy is taken care of every day, but in this moment on election day, where all citizens become equal and our decision has equal value to decide the common fate of our nation,” he said.

“Democracy is the best tool we have to resolve the differences between Chileans in peace, dialogue and agreement,” he stressed.

The traditional meeting between the outgoing president and the elected president is already planned for this Monday at 11:30 a.m. Boric is already ready to welcome the winner this Sunday at the La Moneda presidential palace.