Chile far-right candidate rides anti-migrant wave in presidential poll

Jose Antonio Kast has exploited Trumpian issues ahead of November's election despite the country's recent leftward turn

Hopes for a more progressive Chile have been dealt a blow as a far-right candidate surges in opinion polls ahead of the first presidential election since massive demonstrations against inequality erupted in 2019.

A month before the vote, polling shows that the leftwing candidate - former student leader Gabriel Boric - has slipped behind (by one percentage point) Jose Antonio Kast, a supporter of the dictator Augusto Pinochet, who has suggested digging ditches along the country's border to stop migrants.