We’ve been predicting on these pages that in the months and years ahead we would see Trump-type free market populists elected around the world. It’s happening at a pace even faster than we thought, with Ecuador and Bolivia most recently electing free market governments.

The latest domino to drop is Chile where yesterday free marketeer Jose Antonio Kast won a landslide election for president of Chile on a platform of promoting economic growth, curbing crime and restricting illegal immigration. His 58% of the vote is a repudiation of the existing leftist government and a mandate for growth.

Regular readers of these pages know the peaks and valleys of the Chilean economy. Chile became the jewel of South America starting in 1980, when it lowered tax rates, privatized industries, curbed inflation and moved pensions from state control to personal retirement accounts. Poverty fell from 45% in 1980 to 6% in 2019, and per capita income tripled to $24,000 a year.

But in 2021, Chileans elected a leftist government that nationalized companies, increased welfare payments, raised taxes and saw unemployment hit 9% as economic growth plummeted.

That gave Jose Antonio Kast an opening to propose a pro-growth platform similar to that of Javier Milei – slashing regulation, cutting corporate taxes and slashing public spending by 7% in one year.

It could also again provide a shining example for Latin American nations who want to expand economic liberty and improve relations with the U.S. Next up: Columbia and Venezuela.