Here is the new president of Chile: 35 years old with tattoos and without a tie

Far-right Jose Antonio Kast admitted defeat last night after Gabriel Boric, with 70 percent of the vote counted, was firmly in the lead. He had won over 55% of the vote at the time, compared to 44.8% for Kast. The difference was much bigger than expected.

Last month, no winner could be named in the first round of the presidential election. The number of votes was too tight at the time.

Campaign on TikTok

Since the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was ousted by the people 31 years ago, the South American country has always had leaders from the political center.

This was not the case for the two main candidates during this election campaign. For example, Kast has spoken out strongly against gays and refugees, among others. With a remarkable election campaign on TikTok, this far-right candidate tried to attract young people, as can be seen in this video:

Boric becomes by far the youngest president Chile has ever had. He has tattoos, does not wear a tie and is therefore according to The New York Times very different from the presidential candidates Chile has had in the past.

Fight inequalities

It was the driving force behind the student protests organized ten years ago. Boric pledged to pay more attention and money to support programs to tackle socio-economic inequalities in the country.

In 2019, Chileans took to the streets in droves to protest against inequalities. Dozens of people have been killed as a result. Last year, a referendum followed, in which the people voted to draft a new constitution to replace the current one drafted under Pinochet.