He had won the elections last December, and by a wide margin too: but since last Wednesday, March 11, Jorge Antonio Kast has taken office and he is effectively the new president of Chile. For the Andean country, after a socialist period marked by some successes and many disappointments with the young Gabriel Boric, a new era is thus beginning that in some ways marks a return to the past: Since the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Santiago there has never been a president so right-wingThis means that Chile is shifting its political-commercial axis from China, to which it had become very close – as had almost the entire South American continent, starting with Brazil, the region's leading economy – under President Boric, to Donald Trump's United States, of which Kast promises to be a staunch ally, much like his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei.
It's no coincidence that Kast had been endorsed by the tycoon himself on the eve of the election, and immediately after the victory he rushed to celebrate in Buenos Aires with his friend Milei. And it's no coincidence that at last Wednesday's inauguration ceremony, Brazilian President Lula withdrew from Valparaiso, from the opposite political area, while Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair and a possible candidate in the Brazilian presidential elections next autumn, presented himself given that his father is in prison (as well as ineligible). In addition to him, there were also Milei himself, King Felipe VI of Spain and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, for now abandoned by Trump but who wanted to make clear once again what her political position is: not only against the regime of Nicolas Maduro (now led by Delcy Rodriguez), but markedly right-wing.
In his inaugural speech, Kast tried to be more moderate compared to the harsh intentions used during the election campaign, but he reiterated with conviction the priorities of his government agenda: "This It's not the time for resentment, but to carry on with a task – said the new president -. We will involve those who voted for me and those who did not. We will be ruthless with those who steal money from Chileans. I think of those parents and those middle-class people who work two shifts and still can't make it to the end of the month, of those who walk at night and feel that the street is no longer theirs", continued the 60-year-old lawyer Jorge Antonio Kast, referring to the voters' concerns about the rising cost of living and crime. “We will rebuild our country, our roads, our institutions. We want to build greatness, with everyone's help.”
One of the president's promises was a very tough crackdown on illegal immigration, and on this very issue Kast wasted no time: a few hours after taking power he immediately signed three decrees to order, among other things, the construction of "physical barriers" on the border with Bolivia, just as his political model, Trump, is doing between the United States and Mexico. Probably inspired by ICE's methods, Kast implied that from now on, immigration will be controlled by strong measures: he asked the head of the Chilean army for "active collaboration to increase the number of personnel and also cooperation to build physical barriers to prevent the entry of migrants." One of the decrees also orders a increase in "military resources" on the country's northern border, as well as a strengthening of surveillance “with the use of drones and sensors”.
However, the fight against illegal immigration is not the only point of agreement with the White House: Kast also has ultra-conservative positions on abortion and has made it clear that from now on we are returning to doing business, especially with the United States, through total opening to the market and the privatization of subsidiaries, including those in strategic sectors such as mining, given that Chile is one of the world's leading producers of critical raw materials, such as copper and lithium. From now on China will no longer have a preferential channel of access to this commodity Through state agreements, as happened under Gabriel Boric. He leaves office with a 30% approval rating: his record is weighed heavily by the failure—through two referendum attempts—of constitutional reform, even though he has undoubtedly achieved results in social and labor policies. But he has failed on Chileans' main concern: rising crime.
