Kast Takes Office As Chile Marks Its Sharpest Shift To The Right Since Dictatorship

SANTIAGO, Chile — Far-right leader José Antonio Kast was sworn successful Wednesday arsenic Chile’s caller president, marking nan Latin American nation’s astir pronounced displacement to nan correct since nan return of populist successful 1990.

In a ceremonial astatine nan National Congress successful nan coastal metropolis of Valparaíso and attended by dozens of heads of state, Kast and his early Cabinet took their oaths of agency months aft nan conservative’s landslide triumph successful nan 2025 elections.

Among nan high-raking officials attending Wednesday’s ceremonial were Argentina’s President Javier Milei, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and Spain’s King Felipe VI. Also attending was Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.

The Trump-inspired governmental seasoned won a landslide triumph successful December against government-backed communist campaigner Jeannette Jara pinch nan committedness of fighting crime and curbing forbidden immigration, a task that holds similarities to policies adopted by his U.S. counterpart.

On nan world stage, nan lawyer and leader of nan Chilean Republican Party comes to powerfulness astatine a geopolitical crossroads, caught betwixt nan United States striving to regain its power successful Latin America and China, nan main trading partner for some Chile and overmuch of nan region.

“U.S.–China rivalry successful Latin America has moved from rhetoric to implementation,” said Mariano Machado, an expert pinch consequence intelligence institution Verisk Maplecroft.

The inauguration of Kast, 60, comes pinch awesome anticipation, he said, noting that nan attraction remains connected some a person alignment pinch nan White House and nan administration’s capacity to discuss pinch different cardinal partners.

‘Significant alignment pinch Washington’

While Kast has avoided commenting connected arguable issues astatine location and abroad, he has made overtures to President Trump’s management and praised nan U.S. cognition that culminated successful nan seizure of erstwhile Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

These signals intensified precocious erstwhile Kast abruptly ended nan modulation process pursuing a conflict pinch outgoing President Gabriel Boric complete a task to instal a submarine cablegram to link Chile and China. The task drew aggravated disapproval from nan U.S. and further deepened nan negotiated tensions betwixt nan Boric management and Washington.

Relations betwixt Chile and nan United States person deteriorated importantly nether nan 2nd Trump administration. Boric was a vocal professional of his U.S. counterpart, moreover characterizing nan Republican’s activity style arsenic that of a “new emperor.”

Trump has openly signaled his penchant for Kast complete Boric, notably inviting nan president-elect to past weekend’s “Shield of nan Americas” acme successful Miami, which brought together respective right-wing leaders successful nan region, including Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and Argentina’s Javier Milei.

“Everything indicates a very important alignment of Chile pinch nan directives emanating from Washington,” said Gilberto Aranda, a governmental expert astatine nan University of Chile.

Organized crime and migration successful nan spotlight

Kast narrowly mislaid nan presidency successful 2021 to Boric successful nan runoff election. At that time, his guidance to abortion and same-sex matrimony — on pinch his praise of nan bequest and fig of erstwhile dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet — were mostly rejected by Chileans.

Four years later his hard-line stance connected crime and migration won nan support of astir 60% of voters successful a state deed by a emergence successful organized crime and disappointed by nan awesome expectations that Boric raised but near unfulfilled.

“The defining taxable of José Antonio Kast’s early authorities is simply a consciousness of emergency, peculiarly successful security,” said Aranda, adding that “the system and migration are besides framed wrong this communicative of societal decline” blamed connected nan presence of immigrants.

Kast has praised nan crime-fighting strategies of Bukele, moreover touring El Salvador’s 40,000-capacity mega situation past year. He has besides vowed to criminalize forbidden immigration, intensify wide deportations and instal “fences and walls” on Chile’s borders.

First 100 days are key

Experts propose nan caller administration’s responsiveness will beryllium cardinal successful determining nan government’s people for nan adjacent 4 years, arsenic it will person to woody pinch a divided Parliament to guarantee governability and beforehand its main projects.

“If location is volume, traction and a clear guidance successful nan first 100 days, nan governmental constitution mostly seeks alignment aliases astatine slightest avoids hindering nan administration’s priorities,” Machado said. “If that clarity isn’t seen successful nan first 100 days … nan other happens.”

The suspension of nan modulation process — thing unprecedented since nan return of populist — called by Kast conscionable a week earlier taking agency could tarnish nan image of nan incoming administration, signaling that “very polarized and discordant times are coming,” Aranda added.

“The early ruling statement will request nan consent of Congress to walk laws, and a very strained narration from nan outset could negatively effect consequent speech successful Congress,” he said.

Batschke writes for nan Associated Press.