Santiago, Chile – Sitting on a bench in the centre of the capital Santiago, Fernando Carrasco peers over his shoulder as a man with a large duffel bag takes a seat nearby.

The 62-year-old grandfather clutches his cellphone tightly. He lowers his voice.

“These days you can’t wander the streets after nine at night in the [urban] core,” he says. “It’s dangerous everywhere. On the bus. On the subway. It didn’t used to be like that."

Carrasco, who works overnight shifts stocking shelves at a local supermarket, is voicing a fear that has become a central issue in Chile's presidential elections this year: the spectre of violent crime.

On Sunday, Chilean voters head to the polls to choose between two candidates: far-right lawmaker Jose Antonio Kast and Jeannette Jara, a former labour minister

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