The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Former student activist wins Chile’s presidential election

Leftist candidate Gabriel Boric, 35, defeated far-right populist José Antonio Kast to become the country’s youngest leader

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Updated December 19, 2021 at 10:45 p.m. EST|Published December 19, 2021 at 10:08 p.m. EST
Gabriel Boric celebrates with supporters after winning the Chilean presidential election on Sunday. (Rodrigo Garrido/Reuters)
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SANTIAGO, Chile — Gabriel Boric, a tattooed 35-year-old former student leader from the far south of Patagonia, has secured a crushing victory to become Chile’s president-elect.

Boric narrowly lost the first round of the vote in November to far-right populist José Antonio Kast but managed to reverse his opponent’s advantage to take 56 percent of the vote in the runoff, compared with Kast’s 44 percent.