So far, all polls point to a runoff between leftist Jeannette Jara and far-right Jose Antonio Kast.

On Wednesday night, eight candidates for Chile’s presidency faced their first televised debate ahead of the Nov. 16 elections, in which Chileans will choose their next president, 155 legislators and 23 senators.

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The presidential race includes Communist Party member Jeannette Jara, representing the Unity for Chile alliance; right-wing candidate Evelyn Matthei, from Let’s Go Chile; far-right Republican Jose Antonio Kast; far-right libertarian Johannes Kaiser; Franco Parisi of the People’s Party; and independent candidates Marco Enriquez-Ominami, Harold Mayne-Nicholls, and Eduardo Artes.

The presidential debate began with a tense exchange between Jara and Kast over the ongoing controversy surrounding a journalistic investigation into an ultra-right bot network accused of spreading false information to attack Jara and Matthei.

“The good thing about live programs is that bots can’t spread their lies… Citizens need to know if the bots that attacked Evelyn and me are yours,” Jara said, directly challenging Kast.

The text reads, “Without raising her voice, in a calm and direct manner, Jeannette calls Kast a coward for making lying his way of acting in politics. The best way to confront a fascist is to look him in the eye and tell him the truth, as Jeannette Jara did with far-right Kast.”

The far-right candidate denied responsibility for the attacks and opened his remarks by lamenting the death of ultraconservative activist Charlie Kirk, an ally of President Donald Trump, who was killed Wednesday in Utah.

Jara presented herself as a candidate “with a proven ability to build consensus” and cited Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as one of her global political role models.

Kast praised Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, defended “responsible gun ownership,” proposed creating a special prison for foreign criminals, and said he would support U.S. military intervention in Venezuela to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro “but not with Chilean troops.”

Analysts agree that political polarization will shape the 2025 presidential elections, where voting will be mandatory. So far, all polls point to a runoff between Jara and Kast.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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