SANTIAGO, Chile — Chile's ultraconservative José Antonio Kast takes office as president Wednesday in what will mark the Latin American nation's most pronounced shift to the right since the return of democracy in 1990.
The Trump-inspired political veteran won a landslide victory in December against government-backed communist candidate Jeannette Jara with the promise of fighting crime and curbing illegal immigration, a project that holds similarities to policies adopted by his U.S. counterpart.
On the international stage, the lawyer and leader of the Chilean Republican Party comes to power at a geopolitical crossroads, caught between the United States striving to regain its influence in Latin America and China, the main trading partner for both Chile and much of the region.
“U.S.–China rivalry in Latin America has moved from rhetoric to implementation,” said Mariano Machado, an analyst with risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
The inauguration of Kast, 60, comes with great anticipation, he said, noting that the focus remains on both a closer alignment with the White House and the administration’s capacity to negotiate with other key partners.
'Significant alignment with Washington'
While Kast has avoided commenting on controversial issues at home and abroad, he has made overtures to U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and praised the U.S. operation that culminated in the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
These signals intensified recently when Kast abruptly ended the transition process following a clash with outgoing President Gabriel Boric over a project to install a submarine cable to connect Chile and China. The project drew intense criticism from the U.S. and further deepened the diplomatic tensions between the Boric administration and Washington.
Relations between Chile and the United States have deteriorated significantly under the second Trump administration. Boric was a vocal critic of his U.S. counterpart, even characterizing the Republican’s leadership style as that of a “new emperor.”
Trump has openly signaled his preference for Kast over Boric, notably inviting the president-elect to last weekend's "Shield of the Americas" summit in Miami, which brought together several right-wing leaders in the region, including Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and Argentina's Javier Milei.
“Everything indicates a very significant alignment of Chile with the directives emanating from Washington,” said Gilberto Aranda, a political analyst at the University of Chile.
Organized crime and immigration in the spotlight
Kast narrowly lost the presidency in 2021 to Boric in the runoff election. At that time, his opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage — along with his praise of the legacy and figure of former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet — were largely rejected by Chileans.
Four years later his hard-line stance on crime and immigration won the support of about 60% of voters in a country hit by a rise in organized crime and disappointed by the great expectations that Boric raised but left unfulfilled.
“The defining theme of José Antonio Kast’s future government is a sense of emergency, particularly in security,” said Aranda, adding that “the economy and immigration are also framed within this narrative of social decline” blamed on the arrival of immigrants.
Kast has praised the crime-fighting tactics of Bukele, even touring El Salvador's 40,000-capacity mega prison last year. He has also vowed to criminalize illegal immigration, intensify mass deportations and install "fences and walls" along Chile's borders.
First 100 days are key
Experts suggest the new administration’s responsiveness will be key in determining the government’s course for the next four years, as it will have to deal with a divided Parliament to ensure governability and advance its main projects.
“If there is volume, traction and a clear direction in the first 100 days, the political establishment generally seeks alignment or at least avoids hindering the administration’s priorities,” Machado said. “If that clarity isn’t seen in the first 100 days … the opposite happens.”
The suspension of the transition process — something unprecedented since the return of democracy — called by Kast just a week before taking office could tarnish the image of the incoming administration, signaling that “very polarized and discordant times are coming,” Aranda added.
“The future ruling party will need the consent of Congress to pass laws, and a very strained relationship from the outset could negatively impact subsequent dialogue in Congress,” he said.
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