Chile is looking for Boric's replacement today, with Jara as a favorite and on the far right fighting for second place

The Chileans will elect the successor to progressive Gabriel Boric in the elections starting this Sunday, with former Communist Minister Jeannette Jara as their favorite, and  will pay particular attention to the second place, where there is close competition between far-right candidates.

Jara, a 51-year-old lawyer and administrator, dominates the polls, according to which she has received 28.5% of the votes, far from the majority needed to win the presidency in the first round, so if the forecasts are confirmed, a second round will have to be held on 14 December.

The former Labour Minister managed to become theonly progressive candidate in the primary elections , which is the first Communist militant to represent this sector in the presidential election. The many voters see this Communist origin as an obstacle to coming to power.

However, if he wins, Jara has assured us that he will renounce militancy in order to give an image of unity and show that behind it lies the largest coalition in history, since the Christian Democrats and the Communist Party, among others, have come together this time to stand in coalition.

The right, on the other hand, chose to stand separately for election; so that these elections are in some measure seen as the primaries of this sector.

A few weeks ago, it seemed clear that Jose Antonio Kast  (59 years old) was going to go to the second round, but many polls published before the closure indicate that the ultra-right-wing leader is losing support and that his third attempt to take power may be in danger.

The blame lies with MP Johannes Kaiser , representative of a more radical ultra-right, who, according to some polls, is tied to Caste, who will get 20% support each.

Both of them have announced that they will close borders, combat irregular migration and crime, lower taxes and reduce the size of the state.

Then there's former Mayor Evelyn Matthei , from the traditional right, who's been a favorite for many months, but has dropped to 14 percent in the polls.

If the three right-wingers meet in the second round, which most experts predict, Jara will have little chance of taking over.

Chile will hold its ninth election this Sunday since the end of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), and for the first time all those over the age of 18will beobliged to vote, so that participation will double that of the previous elections and the result will be decided in the second round on 14 December.