As Chileans head to vote for their next president on Sunday, fears over crime, organized gangs, and immigration are at the front of their minds — a far cry from the wave of left-wing optimism that dominated the last election cycle.
An October Ipsos poll revealed that crime is now the top concern among 63 percent of Chileans, eclipsing economy, health, and education.
While Chile remains one of the safest countries in Latin America, its murder rate rose from 2.32 per 100,000 in 2015 to 6.0 in 2024.
Turning to South America, Chileans are
heading into presidential election this
weekend. The concerns over rising crime
and immigration have eclipsed economic
and social issues. Here are the details.
As Chileans head to vote for their next
president on Sunday, fears over crime,
organized gangs, and immigration are at
the front of their minds. A far cry from
the wave of left-wing optimism that
dominated the last election cycle.
>> It is important that security be the
main issue right now. And hopefully all
the candidates can focus on that because
without security in this country, we can
no longer live.
>> People aren't feeling safe anymore. At
night, you can't even go out in your car
or to a bar because they might steal
your car, too.
>> An October Ipsos poll revealed that
crime is now the top concern among 63%
of Chileans, eclipsing economy, health,
and education. While Chile remains to be
one of the safest countries in Latin
America, its murder rate rose from 2.32
per 100,000 in 2015 to 6.0 in 2024.
Kidnappings reach an all-time high in
2024 with authorities linking 40% of it
to organized crime. Shootouts in broad
daylight, contract killings, and
extortion kidnappings, previously very
rare in Chile, have now shocked the
nation and even stunted economic growth.
It comes alongside a wave of Venezuelan
migration with numbers rising in Chile
over 500,000 in seven years that spurred
an immigration backlash which has
blurred into the criminal debate.
Chile's northern desert borders with
Peru and Bolivia have become a flash
point. The small town of Kulchana, where
residents were used to leaving doors
unlocked, has experienced the wave of
break-ins, robberies, and even the
murder of an elderly woman. In 2021, two
women were caught crossing the border
with ketamine, a rare drug in Chile at
that time. The investigation pointed to
Piga, a Bolivian town on the other side
of Kulchan, where a Venezuelan
transnational gang, Trend Ara, dominated
the border and flow of migrants. Chile's
north was relatively unknown to
international criminal organizations
before large-scale immigration brought
it to their attention.
Even Chilean criminals who were not
accustomed to such violence had to
adapt, change or integrate.
>> Aranbia says criminal gangs can broaden
their operations from trafficking people
to trafficking weapons.
>> They expand their business because this
is business. These people operate like a
large criminal enterprise.
>> The Chilean government says it has
arrested hundreds of trendy Ara members
and has the gang on its back foot. While
the current administration says that
lifting banking secrecy laws is
essential in tackling organized crime,
right-wing candidates disagree and are
opting for varying degrees of
heavy-handed approaches to fight gangs
and stem migration, including a border
wall. Sunday's race pits Yanette Hada,
the governing left's coalition candidate
from the Communist Party, against an
array of right-wing contenders. The race
will most likely go to a runoff on
December 14th.
