Kast and Jara end campaign for Chile’s presidency with a nod to undecided voters | World

In the first round, she obtained 26.9% of the votes, against 23.9% for him. However, polls indicate that Kast is the favorite in the second round next Sunday (14), gathering the votes of the right-wing candidates defeated in November.

The protest is now due to the nearly 20% of the votes obtained last month by the third centrist Franco Parisi, who did not support either of the two candidates to succeed President Gabriel Boric.

“No communism, no communism, vote for Kast,” said the campaign song when Kast took the stage and began speaking, in a favorable location: the Araucania region, where he won in November.

The Republican Party candidate has sought to display a moderate version in recent weeks, seeking votes that went to Parisi. “There are no more divisions, people want unity, peace and work,” he said. “We are on a crusade to restore peace, order and justice to our country.”

“We are confident of winning on Sunday. It will be difficult, they will try to make our job difficult, but we must maintain the same unity the next day. We have discussed with other parties to form an emergency government that will truly govern,” Kast said.

He spoke of the support received by first-round opponents Evelyn Matthei and Johannes Kaiser. “We are clear that we need unity to face the disaster of the current government and that Chile comes first.”

As he has at other public events, raising the possibility of being attacked, Kast spoke from behind bulletproof glass. “There are people at home who do not feel safe and who need to protect themselves with armored windows.”

He, who had already defended that irregular immigrants whose children were born in Chile could be separated from their children, mentioned that irregular immigrants have 90 days to spontaneously leave the country, but that they can try to re-enter later, on a regular basis.

A day earlier, the ultra-right had met with supporters and participated in an activity with professional athletes, when he declared once again that, if elected, he would not change the limit of 40 hours of work per week, as Jara emphasized in one of the most tense moments of the televised debate between the two, Tuesday (9).

“We must speak to those who are undecided, to those who voted for Parisi, to those who are afraid,” say the commentators at the Jara meeting. The Communist Party candidate, part of the center-left coalition that governs the country, ended her campaign in Coquimbo, the region where she won in the first round, but where she almost tied with Parisi.

She is under greater pressure than her opponent to win over undecided voters, estimated by polls at 20%. To this end, he highlighted its connection with the Chilean reality and the importance of governing for all, in addition to incorporating the proposals of opponents.

During her speech, around 9 p.m., the former Minister of Labor from Boric highlighted her achievements in government, such as pension reform and reduction of working hours. She said she was a firm leader against abuse and corruption, saying Chile needed hope and certainty for the future.

“Even though some try to impose fear, we put hope first; we put progress and not setbacks. Here in these valleys, where (poet) Gabriela Mistral described and recounted the humble life, everything in this tenacious land has been thanks to the efforts of our families,” he said during his closing rally. “The 40 hours will be defended, no one will touch it. I have a firm hand in the fight against crime, drug trafficking and corruption.”

“People are fed up with empty speeches that tell them one thing today and another tomorrow,” Jara continued. “In my government we will take concrete measures.”

At a rally the day before, Jara promised a strong security strategy, including the construction of five new prisons and measures to end banking secrecy, in a bid to combat organized crime.