Hardline candidate Johannes Kaiser pledges to pardon police convicted of abuses and cut the state sector in his final campaign rally before Chile’s election
SANTIAGO: Chilean ultra-right presidential candidate Johannes Kaiser concluded his campaign with promises to pardon police convicted of human rights abuses and implement deep state cuts.
The 49-year-old MP, polling third ahead of Sunday’s election, addressed thousands of supporters in a Santiago park after an AC/DC tribute band performance.
Kaiser repeated his threat to expel migrants with criminal records to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison.
“We won’t tolerate the persecution of those who serve the law,” he declared while outlining his law-and-order agenda.
The candidate has outflanked far-right rival Jose Antonio Kast with proposals to reinstate the death penalty and close Chile’s border with Bolivia.
Kaiser also supports pardons for convicted members of former dictator Augusto Pinochet’s regime.
His tough stance resonates with Chileans concerned about foreign organized crime gangs that have expanded into the country over the past decade.
While Chile remains one of Latin America’s safest nations, these gangs have imported brutal tactics including kidnapping and torture.
Teresita Andrea Gonzalez, a 27-year-old social worker at the rally, praised Kaiser for “wanting to defend Chile from narcos who don’t let us sleep easy.”
On economic policy, Kaiser has adopted Argentine President Javier Milei’s approach by vowing to slash what he calls a bloated state.
“We will have to fire people,” he said regarding civil servants, while promising his program would create sufficient economic growth for alternative employment.
The grandson of a German democratic socialist who fled Hitler’s Germany now faces communist candidate Jeannette Jara and far-right rival Jose Antonio Kast in Sunday’s presidential election. – AFP
