Chile's far-right rises in Congress, but needs allies for reforms

A man points to a newspaper at a newsstand whose front page shows far-right presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast and a headline reading 'Kast is halfway to becoming the next president' favoring Kast to win the December 14 runoff, after he finished slightly behind governing coalition candidate Jeannette Jara in Chile's first-round presidential vote held on Sunday, in Santiago, Chile, November 17, 2025. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez

SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Jose Antonio Kast's far-right Republican Party made strong gains in both chambers of Congress following Chile's Sunday presidential election, but fell short of majorities and will need to forge alliances to pass reforms.

Most of the gains came at the expense of Chile's traditional right-wing bloc. The anti-establishment People's Party, led by TV commentator Franco Parisi, went from one seat to 14 in the lower house, becoming its fourth-largest as voters soured on traditional parties.