"KAHN: "We can't go downtown safely at night anymore, and the children don't play in the street like they used to," she says. She likes Kast's ideas on illegal immigration and crime, two issues Kast deftly conflates in his stump speeches. (CHEERING) KAHN: He's campaigning on an iron-fist approach to crime, a message that's resonating in many Latin-American countries. He's also vowed to deport the estimated 300,000 undocumented migrants in Chile, most from Venezuela."
"KAHN: "There are people in my country that can't sleep at night and wear bulletproof vests to bed," he says. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) KAST: (Non-English language spoken). KAHN: "This has to stop. And it's not revenge," he says, "it's justice." He vows to increase police forces and build maximum security prisons. There's actually been a recent drop in homicides, say Claudia Heiss Bendersky, a political scientist at the University of Chile. Despite that, though, she says Chileans feel vulnerable."
Chileans vote in a presidential runoff between arch-conservative José Antonio Kast and a leftist opponent, with polls favoring Kast. Crime and illegal immigration top voter concerns. Kast promises an iron-fist approach to crime, increased police forces, maximum-security prisons, and deportation of an estimated 300,000 undocumented migrants, mostly Venezuelans. Kast conflates immigration and crime in campaign rhetoric that resonates in conservative areas like Temuco, where residents report declining neighborhood safety. Despite a recent drop in homicide rates, many Chileans report feeling vulnerable. Polling indicates a possible sharp shift to the right in Chilean politics.
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