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His challenger, , clinched 41.8% of the vote. She called Kast to concede the election and congratulate him on his successful campaign after his lead became irreversible. Kast's supporters erupted into cheers in the street, shouting his name and honking horns.

“Democracy spoke loud and clear,� Jara, who served as labor minister in the center-left government of , wrote on social media.

Speaking at a public square in downtown Santiago, Chile's capital, she encouraged her supporters not to be deterred by the outcome. “It is in defeat that we learn the most,� she said.

Kast was declared the winner less than two hours after polls closed. His campaign spokesman, Arturo Squella, struck a solemn tone, saying that the party feels “very responsible for the tremendous challenge of taking charge of the crises that Chile is going through.�

A regional trend gains traction

Chileans are not alone in their demand for radical change.

Kast’s election represents the latest in a string of votes that have turfed out incumbent governments across Latin America, vaulting right-wing to as U.S. looks to in the Western Hemisphere, in many cases and .

The Trump administration was among the first to congratulate Kast on his victory.

“Under his leadership, we are confident Chile will advance shared priorities to include strengthening public security, ending illegal immigration and revitalizing our commercial relationship,� U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

“The United States looks forward to working closely with his administration to deepen our partnership and promote shared prosperity in our hemisphere.�

A highly polarized election

The victory for Kast signaled a new era for Chile, representing the first radical right-wing president since the country returned democracy in 1990, following the . Centrist parties and have largely alternated power in the decades since.

On the surface, the two candidates in this tense presidential runoff could not have been more different, fundamentally disagreeing on weighty matters of the economy, social issues and the very purpose of government.

A lifelong member of Chile’s Communist Party who pioneered popular social welfare measures in Boric’s government and hails from a working-class family that protested against Pinochet's 1973-1990 military dictatorship, Jara was a dramatic foil to her rival.

Kast, in contrast, is a devout Catholic and father of nine whose German-born father was a registered and whose brother served as a minister in the dictatorship.

Kast's moral conservatism, including fierce opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion without exception, in the increasingly during his past two .

But throughout Boric's tenure, fears about uncontrolled illegal migration and roiled the country, and fueling support for a hard-line approach to insecurity.

Today his supporters run the gamut, including business people enthused about his free-market instincts, middle-class families scared of venturing out at night for fear of carjackings and extreme right-wing activists who glorify the military dictatorship.

Among those waiting for Kast to speak late Sunday after his victory were young Chileans holding up framed photos of Pinochet.