In an election where the decisive themes echoed mounting concerns in the Americas and Europe, a conservative who’s vowed to crack down on illegal immigration and crime trounced his Communist opponent in Sunday’s presidential election in Chile. The result confirms a major political current that now has many Latin American countries embracing right-wing politics.  With 98% of the votes counted, 57-year-old José Antonio Kast was coasting to a 58%-to-42% clobbering of Jeannette Jara, a member of the Communist Party. Kast, a devout Roman Catholic and father of nine, will replace incumbent leftist President Gabriel Boric. It was Kast’s third presidential bid. Underscoring the comprehensiveness of his victory, Kast won all of Chile’s regions, including historic leftist strongholds.  “Chile will be free from crime again, free from anguish, free from fear,” said Kast in a victory speech at his campaign headquarters in the capital city of Santiago. “Chile needs order.” He assured supporters he would clamp down on criminals and “lock them up.” Supporters displayed banners with slogans like “Bye-Bye Illegals” and “Play Time is Over.”  Crime weighed heavily in the contest, with 63% of Chileans saying it was their biggest worry. That’s about double the global average. Illegal immigration (40%) […]