Héroes, villanos y discurso de seguridad en franja electoral presidencial chilena

Abstract

This research analyzes security discourses in the electoral campaigns of the 2025 Chilean presidential elections, focusing on the two main candidates: Jeanette Jara and José Antonio Kast. The objective is to describe and interpret how the problem of insecurity is narratively constructed and how these representations shape distinct symbolic models of leadership, social order, and conflict resolution. A qualitative content analysis is employed, drawing on narratological and mythical categories. The results reveal two clearly differentiated narrative regimes. Kast uses modal prolepsis, presenting the future as an inevitable outcome, constructs a personified villain, and proposes punitive and restorative heroism based on direct action. Jara, on the other hand, employs desiderative prolepsis, presenting the future as an open horizon, identifies a structural and impersonal antagonist, and proposes a technical leadership focused on management and experience. The main findings highlight that, while Kast articulates an epic-restorative narrative of a battle won against an identified enemy, Jara opts for a narrative of technical management of the system’s vulnerability. These constructions not only seek to garner votes but also function as cultural mediations that shape social expectations and condition the implementation of future public policies.