Latest news with #JeannetteJara
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Chile communist Jeannette Jara to lead beleaguered ruling coalition at election
The Chilean communist Jeannette Jara, the country's former labor minister, has won the primary election for leftwing parties with surprising ease, beating out a more moderate rival to clinch over 60% of the vote. The decisive upset makes Jara, 51, the candidate representing Chile's beleaguered incumbent government in November elections, set to face off against center-right and far-right contenders who have surged in the polls. Because of term limits, the current leftist president, Gabriel Boric, 39, cannot run for a second consecutive term. Jara, a lawyer and member of Chile's Communist party who was Boric's labor minister before resigning to run for president, secured 60.5% of the vote. The runner-up who had been considered a favorite – the former interior minister Carolina Toha from the traditional Democratic Socialist party – took 27.7%. 'Today begins a new path that we will walk together, with the conviction to build a fairer and more democratic Chile,' Jara wrote on social media. 'In the face of the threat from the far right, we respond with unity, dialogue and hope.' After Boric's 2022 election, voting was made compulsory, adding unpredictability to this year's race. Preliminary turnout figures from electoral authorities showed that turnout was much lower than expected, with just 1.4 million people casting ballots. Chile has about 15.4 million eligible voters. Although Jara's landslide win represents the rise of hardliners within Boric's coalition, analysts have described Jara as less dogmatic and more diplomatic than some of her communist peers. As labor minister, she earned praise for a program that increased minimum wage and reduced the working week to 40 hours. She has earned comparisons to Michelle Bachelet, Chile's former center-left president and an icon of female empowerment who governed 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018. Paying tribute to Bachelet in her victory speech, she said: 'She was the one who showed us the path that nothing is impossible.' But Jara faces a tough climb to the top job. Recent opinion polls show the leftwing government declining in popularity at a moment of sluggish economic growth and rising fears over organized crime and migration in what has long been regarded as one of the region's most stable and prosperous democracies. Those hot-button issues have helped mobilize support for Chile's rightwing candidates, particularly the ultraconservative lawyer and former lawmaker José Antonio Kast, and set the stage for a deeply polarized election. Another favorite on the right is Evelyn Matthei, a former minister of labor whose business-friendly policy proposals have charmed investors. Chileans will go to the polls on 16 November to elect a president for the 2026-2030 term.
Bloomberg
30-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Chile Peso Gains as Communist Win Is Seen as a Step Too Far for Left
Chile's peso rallied Monday on speculation that a landslide victory for Communist Jeannette Jara in a left-wing primary will make a win for the opposition right in November's election all the more likely. The peso gained as much as 0.5% in early trading, making it the best performing currency in emerging markets.
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Chile communist Jeannette Jara to lead beleaguered ruling coalition at election
The Chilean communist Jeannette Jara, the country's former labor minister, has won the primary election for leftwing parties with surprising ease, beating out a more moderate rival to clinch over 60% of the vote. The decisive upset makes Jara, 51, the candidate representing Chile's beleaguered incumbent government in November elections, set to face off against center-right and far-right contenders who have surged in the polls. Because of term limits, the current leftist president, Gabriel Boric, 39, cannot run for a second consecutive term. Jara, a lawyer and member of Chile's Communist party who was Boric's labor minister before resigning to run for president, secured 60.5% of the vote. The runner-up who had been considered a favorite – the former interior minister Carolina Toha from the traditional Democratic Socialist party – took 27.7%. 'Today begins a new path that we will walk together, with the conviction to build a fairer and more democratic Chile,' Jara wrote on social media. 'In the face of the threat from the far right, we respond with unity, dialogue and hope.' After Boric's 2022 election, voting was made compulsory, adding unpredictability to this year's race. Preliminary turnout figures from electoral authorities showed that turnout was much lower than expected, with just 1.4 million people casting ballots. Chile has about 15.4 million eligible voters. Although Jara's landslide win represents the rise of hardliners within Boric's coalition, analysts have described Jara as less dogmatic and more diplomatic than some of her communist peers. As labor minister, she earned praise for a program that increased minimum wage and reduced the working week to 40 hours. She has earned comparisons to Michelle Bachelet, Chile's former center-left president and an icon of female empowerment who governed 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018. Paying tribute to Bachelet in her victory speech, she said: 'She was the one who showed us the path that nothing is impossible.' But Jara faces a tough climb to the top job. Recent opinion polls show the leftwing government declining in popularity at a moment of sluggish economic growth and rising fears over organized crime and migration in what has long been regarded as one of the region's most stable and prosperous democracies. Those hot-button issues have helped mobilize support for Chile's rightwing candidates, particularly the ultraconservative lawyer and former lawmaker José Antonio Kast, and set the stage for a deeply polarized election. Another favorite on the right is Evelyn Matthei, a former minister of labor whose business-friendly policy proposals have charmed investors. Chileans will go to the polls on 16 November to elect a president for the 2026-2030 term.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chile's left nominates Communist Party's Jara to be presidential candidate
Jeannette Jara, the former labor minister under President Gabriel Boric, won Sunday's primary election for Chile's ruling left-wing coalition ahead of a November presidential election. Jara, a member of Chile's Communist Party, won 60 percent of the vote, according to results based on 93 percent of ballots counted, published by the Electoral Service (Servel). Former interior minister Carolina Toha came in second with 27 percent of the vote, ahead of Gonzalo Winter of President Boric's Frente Amplio party and Jaime Mulet of a small environmentalist party. This is the first time in the country's history that a broad political coalition has chosen a member of the Communist Party as its presidential candidate. Boric, 39, whose term ends in March 2026, cannot run for reelection, as the Chilean constitution prohibits him from serving a second consecutive term. The primary was open to members of the parties within Boric's ruling left-wing coalition and other voters who were not affiliated with specific parties. Turnout was low, with just over 1.3 million casting their ballots, out of the 15 million people eligible to vote. Jara, a 51-year-old lawyer, has established herself politically by spearheading two of the Boric government's flagship reforms -- the reduction of the working week to 40 hours and pension reform. She is expected to face ultra-conservative Jose Antonio Kast and right-wing representative Evelyn Matthei in the presidential election, both of whom are well-placed in opinion polls. "Voting is essential for us to build a common homeland. It is a right and at the same time a duty," Boric told the local press after casting his ballot in the southern city of Punta Arenas, where he is from. Only the ruling coalition chose to hold the primaries, with the other political forces nominating their candidates internally. Rising levels of violent crime in what was once one of Latin America's safest countries were uppermost among voter concerns, according to polls. The first round of the presidential election will be held on November 16. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a second round will follow on December 14 between the two highest-placed candidates. The other contenders have until August 18 to declare their candidacy. ps/sf/aha/dhc
Bloomberg
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Chilean Communist Jeannette Jara Scores Blowout Win in Presidential Primary
By and Valentina Fuentes Updated on Save Chile communist Jeannette Jara won the primary vote among left-wing presidential candidates after mounting a last-minute surge, trouncing other contenders including a moderate politician who was the early favorite. Former Labor Minister Jara got 60.2% of the vote, followed by onetime Interior Minister Carolina Toha with 28%, electoral body Servel reported with 99.6% of ballots counted. Gonzalo Winter won 9% and Jaime Mulet garnered 2.8%.
