Kast's (Chile) ultra-conservative political blitzkrieg: migrants criminalized, protections repealed, prices soar

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2026/04/01/kasts-ultra-conservative-political-blitzkrieg-migrants-criminalized-protections-repealed-prices-soar/

Kast’s ultra-conservative political blitzkrieg: migrants criminalized, protections repealed, prices soar

In less than three weeks in office, Kast has moved to criminalize migration, raise fuel prices, repeal environmental decrees, and halt the construction of memorial sites commemorating the dictatorship’s atrocities


Some political analysts believed that the government of José Antonio Kast would distance itself from the rhetoric that, while thrusting him into the public spotlight as a radical right-wing politician, had undermined his ability to win a runoff election. After all, political moderation tends to be appealing in Chile, which suffered a bloody dictatorship through the years 1973–1990.

Moreover, Kast himself seemed poised to adopt a more moderate stance when, in his victory speeches, he invited Chile’s center-right to join his project for an “emergency government” – as he himself described his future administration.

However, such assumptions are fading as power is being decisively exercised by a Washington ally who appears to be embracing the style and political practices of the Trump administration, with which presidents such as Milei in Argentina, Noboa in Ecuador, Bukele in El Salvador, Paz in Bolivia, and others are also aligning themselves