Far-Right Leader Sworn In As Chile’s President, Marking Sharpest Shift To The Right In Decades

VALPARAÍSO, Chile (AP) — Far-right leader José Antonio Kast He was sworn in as Chile’s new president on Wednesday, marking the Latin American nation’s most significant shift to the right since the return of democracy in 1990.

Kast and his Cabinet took the oath of office some time later, at a ceremony attended by dozens of heads of state at the National Congress in the coastal city of Valparaíso. Overwhelming victory in 2025 elections.

Among those attending the ceremony were Argentinian President Javier Milei, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and King Felipe VI of Spain. Other guests included Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado.

There were several high-profile absences, including: Presidents of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Nayib Bukele from El Salvador. A modest US delegation was led by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.

The new Cabinet was sworn in after newly appointed Senate President Paulina Núñez placed the presidential sash on Kast. José Francisco Pérez Mackenna was sworn in as chancellor, while María Trinidad Steinert became minister of security and Fernando Rabat took office as minister of justice and human rights.

Gabriel BoricThe left-winger, who became Chile’s youngest president in 2022 at the age of 36, leaves office as the worst-rated president since 1990, according to a survey published this week by pollster Cadem. More than half (53%) of those polled think his government is the worst since the return of democracy.

Caste, one Veteran politician inspired by TrumpHe won a landslide victory over government-backed communist candidate Jeannette Jara in December on promises to fight crime and curb illegal immigration, a project that bears similarities to policies adopted by his US counterpart.

Chile, where voters support the right wing, becomes the last Latin American country to vote for the incumbent government Argentinian leaders with Bolivia like President Donald Trump looks defending US dominance In most cases in the Western Hemisphere punish rivals And reward allies.

While Kast refrained from commenting on controversial issues at home and abroad, he made overtures to the Trump administration and praised the US operation that resulted in this operation. Capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

These signals intensified recently when Kast abruptly ended the transition following a disagreement with the outgoing Boric over a project to lay an undersea cable connecting Chile and China. The project was drawn Intense criticism from the USA Diplomatic tensions between the Boric administration and Washington have deepened further.

Relations between Chile and the United States deteriorated significantly during the second Trump administration. Boric has been a vocal critic of his US counterpart, even describing the Republicans’ leadership style as the “new emperor”.

Trump has clearly signaled that he prefers Kast to Boric; In particular, the then-president-elect invited Kast to the meeting held last weekend. “Shield of the Americas” summit in MiamiIt brought together many right-wing leaders in the region, including Bukele and Milei.

Kast narrowly lost the presidency to Boric in the 2021 runoff elections. At the time, he was opposed to abortion and gay marriage, as well as praising the former dictator’s legacy and personality. General Augusto Pinochet – Largely rejected by Chileans.

Four years later, his tough stance on crime and immigration has won the support of nearly 60% of the country’s voters. affected by the increase in organized crime and was disappointed by the great expectations that Boric had raised but left unfulfilled.

Kast praises crime-fighting tactics bukeleeven while traveling around El Salvador Mega prison with a capacity of 40,000 last year. He has also promised to criminalize illegal immigration, intensify mass deportations and install “fences and walls” along Chile’s borders.

Experts suggest that the new administration’s responsiveness will be key in determining the government’s course over the next four years, as it will have to deal with a divided Parliament to ensure manageability and advance its major projects.

“If there is volume, interest and clear direction in the first 100 days, the political establishment will generally seek alignment or at least avoid obstructing the administration’s priorities,” said Mariano Machado, an analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft. “If this clarity is not seen in the first 100 days… the opposite will happen.”