Chile elected conservative José Antonio Kast as president on Dec. 15, as voter priorities shift from inequity and improved pensions to addressing crime, immigration and strengthening a sluggish economy.

Kast won with a commanding 58% of the votes, according to Reuters, beating out the leftist candidate Jeannette Jara in a runoff election. Despite Kast’s resounding victory, he will face a senate evenly split between right and left with the swing vote in the lower legislative body belonging to the populist People’s Party.

Kast’s economic plan involves more flexible labor laws, corporate tax cuts, decreased regulations and tighter spending, according to Reuters. Kast’s economic plans bear some resemblance to Argentina’s President Javier Milei’s own, whom Kast met with soon after his victory.

Copper is central to Kast’s economic vision, as he has expressed plans to encourage investment in Chile’s booming copper industry. Chile is the world’s largest copper producer as well as a major producer of lithium, two key components for rechargeable batteries, according to Reuters. Expectations of decreased regulations and market-friendly policies have improved local stock market, peso currency and equity benchmark.

The country’s mining investment is expected to reach $104.549 billion from this year until 2034, according to Reuters, the highest investment forecast since the 2016 to 2025 period. The forecasted growth is coupled with the planned expansion of BHP’s Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, and new concentrators at Collahuasi, a copper mine owned by Glencore and Anglo American.

“In this portfolio, we are seeing how new copper and lithium projects are consolidating as drivers of future development,” said Mining Minister Aurora Williams, per Reuters.

Of the sales to Chile, nine out of ten are to existing customers, according to FCIB’s Credit and Collections Survey. Those extending credit offer 61-90-day terms (30%), 1-30-day terms (20%), 31-60-day terms (20%) and over 90-day terms (20%). Additionally, 10% of creditors do not extend credit to customers in Chile. Of those extending credit, customers are 43 days beyond terms on average, with delays attributed to unwillingness to pay (43%), cultural norms and customs (43%), supply chain issues (29%) and billing disputes (29%).

“If selling on open terms, be sure to know your customer before extending credit,” one respondent wrote. “Research the parent company and all related parties.”

“Make sure to obtain updated credit information,” another respondent wrote. “Verify the owner and address because at times details change without creditors being notified. Know all you can about the customer, pull a credit report for payment history, legal status and name verification.”