Chile Votes Amid Security Fears and Political Drift While Israel Policy Remains an Unspoken Divide
Chile’s presidential race has now moved into a runoff, closing a first round marked less by ideological battles than by collective weariness. Rising crime, pressure from irregular migration and years of institutional strain have narrowed public discussion, pulling most conversations toward security, the cost of everyday life, and the search for political calm. Subjects that once held national attention — among them Chile’s dramatic break with Israel — rarely appeared in the candidates’ speeches, even though those shifts continue to matter to specific groups of voters.
The gap between public rhetoric and diplomatic reality has been noticeable. Under President Gabriel Boric, who cannot seek immediate re-election, Chile adopted its most confrontational posture toward Israel in decades. The government recalled its ambassador and left the post vacant for months, withdrew its military attachés, and repeatedly used international platforms to isolate Israel.
Boric embraced the language of “genocide” to describe Israel’s military operations in Gaza, supported South Africa’s petition at the International Court of Justice, and even drew praise from Hamas. Inside Chile, several synagogues were vandalized, and Jewish institutions operated in a climate of caution as political discourse treated Israel’s guilt as a settled question.
Despite all this, the topic barely surfaced on the debate stage. Right-leaning candidates avoided it to prevent friction with Chile’s roughly 400,000 citizens of Palestinian descent — by far the largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Arab world. On the left, Jeannette Jara, a lifelong Communist Party militant, showed no interest in revisiting a foreign policy record that was already complicating her appeal to moderates.
Once the votes were counted, the picture became clearer. Jara finished first with 26.8%, followed closely by José Antonio Kast at 23.9%, securing both a place in the December 14 runoff. Franco Parisi came in third with 19.7%, Johannes Kaiser with 13.9% and Evelyn Matthei with 12.5%, removing them from the race.
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For some communities, the subject of Israel cannot be sidestepped so easily. Roughly 20,000 Jews live in Chile, and many report a rise in antisemitic incidents. More than 10,000 Chileans reside in Israel, forming a close-knit diaspora that maintains a strong sense of belonging despite the distance. For both groups, Chile’s approach to Israel is not a marginal concern but something woven into their civic identity.
One of the officials who sees this engagement directly is Jorge Torres, Chile’s consul in Tel Aviv. He cannot comment on politics, but he described a community that participates actively. Speaking with The Media Line, he said that “voting from abroad is a constitutional right, and the presence of Chileans in Israel is very significant.” He expects a strong turnout and notes that Chileans overseas “understand they are part of the democratic process.” His remarks reflected how connected the community remains, even when the national campaign avoids issues they view as central.
Preliminary tallies from Chileans voting in Israel reflected these sensitivities with unusual clarity. According to the official overseas count, José Antonio Kast received 52.3% of the vote cast in Israel (69 ballots), followed by Johannes Kaiser with 29.5% (39 ballots). Evelyn Matthei trailed at 12.9% (17 votes), while Jeannette Jara secured only 3.8% (five votes). The pattern stood in sharp contrast to the national outcome and highlighted a point often overlooked in Chile: the country’s diplomatic posture toward Israel has become a determining factor for many Chileans living in the region, even if the issue barely came up during the campaign.
Inside Chile, the first-round results largely confirmed trends visible throughout the campaign. Jara’s vote share was solid but showed little capacity to expand. Her years inside Boric’s cabinet tied her to a period remembered for rising insecurity, economic stagnation, and a confrontational foreign policy. She briefly suggested she might step away from the Communist Party, then reversed course a short time later, a maneuver widely seen as tactical rather than substantive.
Kast, on the other hand, strengthened his position. Once considered too polarizing because of his conservative platform and past praise for aspects of the Pinochet era — alongside renewed attention on his father’s teenage membership in the Nazi Party — he nonetheless benefited from voters distressed by public safety issues. Attacks from the left often had the unintended effect of reinforcing his profile as the clearest alternative to the current government.
Kaiser’s fourth-place finish still left a mark on the race. His libertarian message — shrinking the state, tightening Chile’s northern border, and pushing for the partial privatization of Codelco, the state-run copper company that underpins much of the national economy — resonated with younger Chileans who feel alienated from mainstream parties. Matthei’s decline was shaped not only by long-lasting associations with the Pinochet years, but also by tensions inside her own coalition, where influential Palestinian-Chilean figures questioned her stance toward Israel.
This election cycle has heightened uncertainties for Jewish Chileans. The Media Line spoke with Yonathan Nowogrodski, former executive director of the Jewish Community of Chile and now a technology executive in Santiago. “The last two years were extremely difficult for the Jewish community,” he said. “There was open support for anti-Israel demonstrations, the government withdrew military attachés, backed legal proceedings against Israel in The Hague, and reduced relations almost to a standstill.” He also pointed out that some center-right politicians aligned with the government; Senator Francisco Chahuán traveled to The Hague to support South Africa’s case, and Senator Sergio Gahona introduced a boycott bill later prioritized by the government.
Looking ahead to the runoff, Nowogrodski expressed concern that a Jara presidency could deepen the divide between Chile and Israel. “The concern is that we may face a complete diplomatic rupture, which would have a direct impact on the security and daily life of Jews in Chile,” he told The Media Line. At the same time, he noted that both Jewish and Palestinian-Chilean communities are internally diverse. Long-established business families often view the issue differently from younger activists energized after October 7. “People know that what may feel symbolically right for Palestine could be economically damaging for Chile,” he added.
Foreign policy continues to play a quiet role among Chileans abroad. Overseas voters cast ballots only for the president, not for Congress, leading diaspora communities to organize around issues that resonate with them, especially international alignment. In Israel and in Chile, informal voting guides circulate ranking candidates by their foreign policy positions. These networks remain small but highly coordinated, and such coordination can become relevant in a close runoff.
The topic of Israel may not have been discussed onstage during the debates, but it has remained just beneath the surface of the campaign. Security and the economy dominate the public conversation, yet the question of whether Chile will maintain or reverse Boric’s diplomatic trajectory still hangs over the election. The candidates rarely address it, but the absence says as much as the words they choose, and the runoff will determine which direction the country follows next.
