Chile's Bolsonaro? Hard-right Kast rises with frank talk, crime focus

FILE PHOTO: Chilean presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast from far-right Republican Party meets with Chilean-based international media reporters in Santiago, Chile, November 12, 2021. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean ultra-conservative Jose Antonio Kast, sometimes likened to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro or former U.S. President Donald Trump, has made a rapid surge in opinion polls and is now the front-runner in Sunday's presidential election.

The 55-year-old lawyer, a Catholic and father of nine, is disarmingly softly spoken, even as he promises a tough approach on crime and a streamlined state. He has praised the "economic legacy" of former dictator Augusto Pinochet.