Chile presidential elections: why did Kast win?

For the first time in Chile, a self-declared Pinochet supporter has been elected to La Moneda. This signifies the restoration of the conservative bourgeois order six years after the October 2019 uprising. And he will come to power with an overwhelming majority.

Part of the explanation for this result lies in Chile’s electoral mechanics and the recent introduction of compulsory voting. This added millions of new votes from those who are usually apathetic, and tend to vote against the government in power or for the most anti-establishment option. But for the rest, this result can be explained politically by the role of the outgoing government and the recent dynamics of the class struggle.

The total number of votes cast in this election rose from 7 million in 2021 to 13.5 million in the first round. In 2021, Gabriel Boric took 4.6 million (55 percent) against 3.6 million (44 percent) for the right-winger Kast. This year, Jara (Communist Party of Chile) took 5.2 million votes in the second round. In other words, the electoral base of the left remained firm. There was even a slight increase. However, this time Kast took 7.2 million votes.

Clearly the flow of new voters with compulsory voting overwhelmingly benefited Kast.

Let us move on to the underlying political causes. In the early 2000s, a series of protests and mass mobilisations began in Chile, culminating in the popular rebellion of October 2019. This movement put the regime on the ropes, only to be channeled into a constitutional process that was ultimately rejected.

From the ‘agreement for social peace and the new constitution’ on 15 November 2019 to the present, through the election of Gabriel Boric in 2021 and the rejection of the first constitutional draft in 2022, the masses have been systematically demobilised. Meanwhile, the weakened bourgeois institutions and the repressive apparatus of the state were restored in agreement with all the parties of the regime in Congress.

Due to the enormous discredit accumulated by the traditional parties, both on the right and in the former left-wing coalition, Concertación, this process had to be led by someone like Boric. He appeared to be someone ‘new’ and ‘young’ and, to a certain extent, unconnected to the discredited two-party system.

The incoming Kast government arrives amidst two contradictory processes. On the one hand, we have seen the decomposition of the regime, and a crisis of bourgeois democracy and of the traditional parties. On the other hand, we have seen measures taken to rebuild the regime under Boric. Kast will now attempt to make use of the repressive state apparatus, restored and revitalised under Boric, in order to assert the ruling class’ interests in an authoritarian manner.

Boric’s government of the Frente Amplio (FA) and the Communist Party (PC), later underpinned by the old Concertación, sought to reform the bourgeois state. Under its political leadership, these parties initially sought to lay the foundations for a new historical period that they imagined would bear the ideological stamp of their liberal, postmodern, petty-bourgeois outlook. Instead, they fully adopted the historical programme of the right wing, of ‘public order’ and militarisation of the Araucanía region. This has added fuel to the fire of the far right and has legitimised its reactionary discourse.

In terms of foreign policy, Boric aligned himself with the United States in relation to the war in Ukraine and has attacked Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. On the economic front, Boric ingratiated himself with business leaders. 

Beyond a few minor reforms, his government's policy was one of managing the crisis of the capitalist system / Image: Fotografoencampana, Wikimedia Commons

Beyond a few minor reforms, his government's policy was one of managing the crisis of the capitalist system. It was therefore unable to resolve any of the fundamental and pressing problems of the masses that were at the root of the 2019 rebellion: health, education, employment, housing, and pensions.

In this regard, the communist candidate in the recent presidential election, a former labour minister, led a pension reform that deepened the hated private pension system, placing herself at odds with the needs of workers, and distancing herself from the so-called ‘octubrismo’ [a term associated with the 2019 rebellion].

During the presidential campaign, we saw that, deep down, Jara was in complete agreement with Kast on the policy of ‘public order’ and border control. The tone and form of her approach were different, but the content was the same. And, as we have seen in Congress, all parties seem to agree on this.

We must therefore understand that the repression and political persecution that will be carried out under the ‘emergency government’ announced by Kast will be the result of the work already advanced by the previous government, in terms of repression of the student movement, eviction of occupations, militarisation of the Araucanía region, and impunity for the Carabineros (gendarmerie). The newly established Ministry of Public Security, which was formed last year, will continue to expand and will probably take on a more prominent role during Kast's government.

It is important, therefore, to look at the entire arc of recent history of the class struggle in order to clearly discern the limits and significance of the period we are living in. The rise of the far right did not come out of nowhere, but is the product of the political bankruptcy of reformism and liberal ideology that shaped the PC-FA coalition.

What does Kast's victory represent?

Almost inevitably, a government that presents itself as left-wing and carries out policies that serve the ruling class paves the way for the right to come to power. The victory of Kast, who shamelessly claims to be the heir to Pinochet-ism, has understandably set off alarm bells among many militants and activists on the left and in the labour movement. But it is important to ask ourselves, are we on the eve of the restoration of dictatorship? Is Pinochet coming back?

Pinochet's dictatorship established itself in power on the basis of a widespread and brutal campaign of extermination and systematic terror against the most advanced sections of the working class and youth that almost led to the total physical destruction of their organisations. It must be said that this is not what is on the Kast government’s agenda.

Some have spoken about ‘fascism’ in Chile. But there is a clear difference with the fascism of Hitler and Mussolini. In Chile today, the far right has not won by using clubs, pistols, or rifles. They have not dealt a crushing and historic defeat to the workers by exterminating their leaders, closing down and banning their organisations, or taking to the streets with fascist gangs made up of crazed young people from the middle class.

Kast's government arose from the demoralisation produced by the programme of class conciliation – which did not provide real solutions to the needs of the masses – and the demobilisation that the constitutional process entailed. Although there are emboldened radical right-wing groups, Kast's government will rely more on the finely-tuned repressive apparatus of the state that is already in place.

Kast threatens the working and living conditions of the working class, which sooner or later will be felt / Image: José Antonio Kast Rist, Twitter

Yesterday's abstainers, who today have given Kast the victory, could only have been won over by the left with a programme of radical transformation of society, to abolish capitalism and bring the interests of the exploited to a workers' government. Having managed the crisis of Chilean capitalism for years now, the left was fully associated with ‘the system’, and was unable to inspire those who were already rejecting everything. 

Of course, it is clear that Kast will not deliver substantive solutions either. In reality, he threatens the working and living conditions of the working class, which sooner or later will be felt, and his promises will go up in smoke in front of the masses.

Some offer more ‘sophisticated’ explanations for the rise of the far right, based on the role of the media and disinformation. These factors do exist and are important in the so-called digital age. But this idea leads to the conclusion that the defeat was simply because workers are stupid and ignorant, have no memory, do not understand what they read, and have failed to recognise the message of salvation. It is clear that Chile, despite all the talk of being a modern country, still has millions of people who are marginalised and left behind, many of whom may fall prey to demagogic lies propagated on social media.

It is true that the right has skilfully used digital communities, and that at the same time other traditional forms of political association among workers – such as trade unions and reformist parties – have declined in their influence. Yet the latter is mainly the result of the political bankruptcy of left-wing organisations and not of specific forms of communication. The main issue is the political failure of the reformist leaders, rather than a technical issue.

Confronting reaction with a revolutionary programme

The important lesson we want to highlight is the capacity of a bold revolutionary policy to mobilise thousands and even millions of people to become a key factor in the class struggle, not on social media, but effectively in reality and on the streets.

The key to revolutionary politics is class struggle and a radical programme to abolish capitalism and establish a workers' government.

For this, the fundamental tool is the revolutionary party of the working class, whose leadership must be in the hands of advanced workers and the best class fighters. Kast represents Pinochet-ism and the corporate interests of Chile's ruling class. Nevertheless, he has come to the presidency through his demagogic agitation around real problems affecting the most marginalised sectors of the working class.

His government will be markedly authoritarian and conservative. But let us not forget that both Pinochet's legacy and the power of Chile's ruling class were existentially threatened by the last wave of mass mobilisations and the politicisation of the youth.

For the moment, the ruling class has exorcised its demons. But it is also important to note that it rests on an unstable foundation and faces a working class that has not really been defeated and whose organisations have not been destroyed.

In Argentina, Milei's government has faced massive mobilisations of the working class, pensioners and youth. It has managed to stay in power due to a combination of economic and political factors, but the central factor has been the disastrous role played by the trade union leadership and Kirchnerism, which has at all times tried to contain the struggle of the masses and prevent its spread and generalisation.

Furthermore, Kast and his team are closely linked to notoriously corrupt business sectors, and their reactionary, far-right rhetoric will result in constant provocations against the working class. It is very likely that in Araucanía, the repression of Mapuche activism by the armed forces, the police, and/or right-wing armed groups will have scandalous and even fatal results that will provoke protests, in circumstances where the ‘official channels’ for the Mapuche people will be blocked during the next government.

The same applies to student, trade union, women's, and LGBT struggles, which will not have it easy and will be harshly attacked and repressed. The resurgence of the banners of the most reactionary right wing portends a climate of growing radicalisation and politicisation among the working class and youth.

The resurgence of the banners of the most reactionary right wing portends a climate of growing radicalisation and politicisation / Image: Natalia Reyes Escobar, Wikimedia Commons

Left-wing and workers’ organisations are in a state of weakness and dispersion. The Communist Party has been greatly discredited after the last government and Jara's election campaign, where she renounced her principles. The same can be said of the CUT (Workers' United Center of Chile) and other trade union organisations that played a progressive role in the past. It is likely that the scenario will begin to change under the effect of current events, with advanced layers joining other left-wing organisations that are at hand.

That is why all doors must be opened to the new layers that want to fight and learn, that are not demoralised. They must not be allowed to become contaminated with the disease of sectarianism, but instead, we must promote the mobilisation of the working class under the greatest possible unity, so that new elements of the vanguard can join the historic struggle for the emancipation of our class, and learn from its revolutionary traditions.

In these mobilisations, we must raise a radical programme of breaking with the capitalist regime, not silly discourses in defence of bourgeois democracy and its rotten institutions. Nor can we repeat the same mistake of placing our hopes in yet another constituent assembly, but this time a ‘true’ or ‘sovereign’ one.

The problem in Chile is not that we need ‘more democracy’ or a better and cleaner democracy. What is needed is to expropriate the ruling class and put the country's resources at the service of the needs of the vast working majority. We must defend democratic rights, yes, but it is not a question of improving bourgeois democracy, but of fighting for genuine democracy, in which we, the exploited, have the means of production in our hands.

The reformist leaderships of the Communist Party or the Frente Amplio (Boric’s party) will probably focus their resistance in the parliamentary trenches and simply use the struggle in the streets in accordance with their parliamentarian and careerist politics. There are questions on which they can easily attack the Kast government, for example, human rights issues, as well as other so-called ‘values’ issues, such as the right to abortion and other rights that the right wing has always opposed.

Meanwhile, the presidential race for 2030 has already begun, with the demagogue Parisi projected to be the best-placed contender, while the liberal centre-left finds itself in a tough battle to decide who will lead the opposition. It is therefore important that when the masses mobilise, they do so with political independence, and that they aim to raise their own revolutionary programme, in coordination with all other layers engaged in struggle, and not with opportunistic parliamentarians and politicians.

What is needed is a programme of breaking with capitalism and of profoundly transforming society, based on the revolutionary organisation of the working class for the seizure of power. The only realistic response to the global situation is revolution; any other alternative is evading the reality of our era of imperialist wars, environmental disaster, and economic crisis.

Long live the working class!

Long live the October rebellion!

Organise the resistance with all layers in struggle!

Build the revolutionary party! For a workers' government!