Left-wing primary elections in Chile are being overshadowed by a surge of criminal activity
Revised Article:
Get ready for a hotly contested battle as four hopefuls square off this weekend for the presidential nomination of Chile's left wing, prior to November elections dominated by a rise in violent crime.
More than 15 million votes are up for grabs today, with eligible voters deciding between Jeannette Jara, previously the minister of labor, Carolina Toha, former minister of the interior, Gonzalo Winter, a parliament member, and Jaime Mulet, another parliament member. These candidates aim to represent the left in their fight against a resurgent right.
Open to members of President Gabriel Boric's ruling coalition and unaffiliated voters alike, the primary election promises to be a thrilling affair.
According to a recent Cadem poll, far-right leader Jose Antonio Kast, who lost to Boric in the 2021 run-off, is leading the race with 17% of voting intentions. Evelyn Matthei, the former Providencia mayor, follows close behind with 16%.
Among the left candidates, Jara holds a strong third position with 8%, just ahead of Toha in fourth and another far-right candidate, Johannes Kaiser, in fifth.
Boric, barred by Chile's constitution from seeking a second term, is the only bloc to hold an open primary. The other parties have chosen their candidates internally.
Rising levels of violent crime, once a rarity in Latin America, top the list of voter concerns. The murder rate has skyrocketed from 2.32 murders per 100,000 in 2012 to 6.0 last year.
Kast's tough-on-crime and anti-drug trafficking stance resonates with working-class Chileans. Toha, a political scientist, resigned from her role as the government's crime response leader in March to run for president.
Jara, a 51-year-old lawyer and Communist Party activist who served as Boric's labor minister until April, heads into the primary with two major reforms to her credit. She reduced the working week from 45 to 40 hours, fulfilling Boric's campaign promise, and transformed the pension system, making it a mixed public-private regime.
A former student leader and fellow Broad Front party representative, Winter polls around 30%. Jaime Mulet, representing a small ecologist party, fields at about 5%.
This primary election on June 29 could determine not only the left's single candidate but also how the fragmented left can unite and challenge the emboldened right in the November general election. This race marks a significant juncture for the left's future strategy and leadership.
In the upcoming primary election on June 29, the left candidates - Jeannette Jara, Carolina Toha, Gonzalo Winter, and Jaime Mulet - are seeking to represent their political group in the November general elections, which have seen a surge in violent crime. The race's outcome could decisively shape the future strategy and leadership of the left wing, as they aim to counter a resurgent right, with Jose Antonio Kast leading the far-right candidates. The election coverage encompasses not only the nomination process but also the broader context of general-news topics such as politics and crime-and-justice.
