Chile’s right rejoices after pro-Pinochet candidate wins presidential first round

Jose Antonio Kast will face progressive former student leader Gabriel Boric in runoff election next month

Chile's right wing have claimed a jubilant victory after Jose Antonio Kast, a former congressman with a history of defending the Pinochet dictatorship, secured a surprise win in the first round of the country's presidential election.

Kast, who campaigned on a platform of public order, migration controls and conservative social values, confounded expectations to take 28% of the vote and beat the progressive former student leader Gabriel Boric by two percentage points.