Why the Right Won in Chile and Colombia: An Economic Explanation Beyond Ideology
Personal analysis — not an ideological position
ENGLISH VERSION
Why did the political pendulum move to the right?
The victories of José Antonio Kast in Chile and Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia are often interpreted through the traditional political vocabulary of left versus right, progressive versus conservative, or liberal versus nationalist.
That interpretation is incomplete.
There is a more interesting economic explanation.
In both countries, voters were not necessarily voting for a fully defined ideological project. A significant part of the electorate was voting against economic uncertainty, insecurity, weak expectations and the perception that government was becoming less capable of delivering tangible results.
The two cases are not identical. Chile is economically more stable and institutionally stronger than Colombia. Colombia also experienced important social improvements under Gustavo Petro. Yet both elections reveal a similar phenomenon: when expectations rise faster than economic reality, voters can rapidly abandon the political coalition that promised transformation.
Chile: the problem was less collapse than stagnation of expectations
José Antonio Kast won the December 2025 presidential election with approximately 58% of the vote, producing Chile’s sharpest political shift to the right in decades. His campaign combined security, immigration, economic growth and institutional stability. (Reuters)
The interesting point is that Chile was not experiencing an economic catastrophe.
The OECD expected Chilean GDP growth of around 2.3% in 2025 and 2.1% in 2026. More recent data indicate that GDP actually grew around 2.5% in 2025, while inflation moved back toward the central bank’s target. Investment also recovered strongly, with gross fixed capital formation increasing by about 7% in 2025. (OECD)