By Alexander Villegas and Fabian Cambero SANTIAGO, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Chilean president-elect Jose Antonio Kast secured a commanding runoff win against leftist candidate Jeannette Jara on Sunday that will give him momentum, but he faces a balancing act to move quickly on his promises while building needed support among more moderate lawmakers. Kast – whose margin of victory was some 16 percentage points over government-backed Jara, a member of the Communist Party – ran on a law-and-order platform that pledged a crackdown on rising crime and a tougher stance towards unchecked migration at Chile's porous northern border. "We are going to work tirelessly to recover tranquility, to recover order, to recover growth and to recover hope because Chile has given us a clear mandate that admits no excuses," Kast said in a victory speech at his party headquarters on Sunday evening. He did, however, repeatedly warn that there were no quick fixes and asked voters for patience. He will take over in March from leftist President Gabriel Boric, with whom he met on Monday to discuss the transition. On Tuesday, Kast is set to travel to neighboring Argentina to meet with President Javier Milei. Kast's economic plan bears some similarities with Milei's, involving more flexible labor laws, corporate tax cuts, less regulation, and a deep reduction in spending. He has also said he will seek to encourage investment in the copper industry in the world's No.1 supplier, but has indicated no plans for major changes to its governance. There was little movement in either the Chilean peso or stock market on Monday. Both had made strong gains in the run-up to the second round and Kast's win was largely priced in, said Capital Economics in a note. 'MORE LIKE MIKE PENCE THAN DONALD TRUMP' Kast has been on the right-wing fringes of Chilean politics for years, with two previous failed presidential runs under his belt and both personal and family support for the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in his past. He has frequently railed against crime, migrants and abortion. However, he has struck a more moderate tone in campaigning in recent months and was notably conciliatory towards opponents in his victory speech. "This is going to be 'Make Chile Boring Again' and I think that's good news because there were a lot of people who were afraid he was going to be an authoritarian, populist, radical president," said Patricio Navia, a Chilean professor of liberal studies at New York University. Kast – a Catholic with nine children – wears suits and eschews the fireworks of populist regional leaders like Milei, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro or U.S. President Donald Trump. "He doesn't have that aggressive style of Milei or President Trump," Navia said. In his speech, "he seemed much more like Mike Pence than Donald Trump." CRIME FEARS The biggest topic of the election campaign was fears over crime, immigration and organized gangs that have taken root in recent years. Chile remains one of Latin America's safest countries. But shootouts in broad daylight, brutal contract killings and extortion kidnappings, long a reality in other parts of the region but previously very rare in Chile, have shocked the nation and even stunted economic growth as people adjusted their daily habits. "If he (Kast) can credibly signal that he is doing something about improving people's perception around the security situation, I think then we are heading into a phase of political stability there which would be rewarded by markets," said Witold Bahrke, Senior Macro & Allocation Strategist at Global Evolution emerging markets fund. Kast's proposals include building walls, trenches and electric fences along the border and forming a police force similar to the U.S.'s Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain and expel migrants. He's also vowed to expel all migrants in the country illegally and encouraged them to leave before he takes office. However, while there is broad political support to tackle security issues, Kast will be conscious of the need to work with a Chilean Congress that is divided and may not support his more radical proposals. The Senate is evenly split between left- and right-wing parties, while the swing vote in the lower legislative body belongs to the populist People's Party. A strict austerity agenda could also risk triggering protests, analysts at Oxford Economics said. In his favor, there are already signs that sectors like construction and retail are recovering after a tough few years, while inflation has been cooling. But debt is high, said University of Chile economist Jorge Berrios, and his first 100 days will be key. "There are a lot of expectations in relation to the future government and high expectations can cause problems if they are not fulfilled," said Berrios. (Reporting by Alexander Villegas and Fabian Cambero in Santiago; Additional reporting by Froilan Romero, Gabriel Araujo and Marc Jones; Writing by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)
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