Chile’s new far-right president elect is a fascist Trump wannabe

José Antonio Kast Rist – better known by his first three names, José Antonio Kast – is Chile’s new far-right president elect. Kast will take up the mantle of president in March 2026.

The news of Chile’s sudden swing right has made headlines all week, along with several excellent profiles of the new ultra-conservative future-president. As such, we’re going to take a look at the man and his odious politics in his own words, through a selection of quotes. First, however, a little bit of background.

Chile PM: from Nazis to Pinochet to Kast

Kast’s family immigrated to Chile from Germany in the 1950s. His father was a lieutenant in the German army during WW2, and was a member of the Nazi Party. However, Kast maintains that he was forcibly conscripted. Kast’s brother Miguel served as a government minister under Pinochet in the 1980s.

The second round of Chile’s elections granted a landslide victory to the ultra-conservative candidate. After discarding a notably high proportion (7.1%) of spoiled ballots, Kast netted 58.2% of the vote. By contrast, left-wing candidate Jeanette Jara received 41.8%.

Kast spent more than 10 years as a congressman, working within the centre-right Independent Democratic Union (UDI). However, he left the party in 2016, and formed the Partido Republicano de Chile (Republican Party of Chile) in 2019. The Republican party distinguished itself by its more far-right politics compared to the UDI.

On being ‘far-right’

Reuters reported in 2021 on a previous unsuccessful presidential bid from Kast. At the time, his Republican Party received a great deal of attention for being further right than the UDI. However, Kast himself rejected the label of ‘extreme right’:

How do you propose that someone you call extreme right is currently ahead in the polls? Are all the Chileans who vote for me from the extreme right? That is not true.

I don’t feel like the ultra right.

You’d think that, being the son of a Nazi, he’d be more wary of conflating popularity with right-wing moderation. Kast’s current policies include opposition to abortion and gay marriage, expelling undocumented migrants, and banging on about “order in the streets”. It would be very interesting how hear how “ultra right” he feels now.

He also favours pardons for people convicted of human rights crimes under Pinochet’s dictatorship. Very moderate-right stuff. There’s no fascism to see here. Kast expressed admiration for Pinochet, and stated that the dictator would have voted for him:

We don’t have a way to ask him, but I don’t think he would have many alternatives.

On immigration

Regarding the prevalence of undocumented immigration in Chile, Kast blames the “narco-dictatorship in Venezuela”:

We should expel the Venezuelan ambassador from Chile. If we only have consular relations with them, then so be it.

After those 92 days, anyone who requests any state service — whether in health, education, transport, for a remittance, for a contract, or to sell something — that person will be registered and will be invited to leave.

On abortion

Kast has described himself as a Catholic first and politician second. It’s funny (tragic) that politicians voicing their Christianity is always a prelude to ‘therefore, I believe in repressing bodily autonomy and gay rights.’ It’s never ‘so I believe in feeding the poor and welcoming the stranger’.

Anyway, sure enough, Kast has stated on the topic of abortion that:

I support life from conception to natural death.

And just in case ‘I support life from conception’ wasn’t obvious enough:

It is an intellectual machination to say that women have the right over their body.

Stunningly evil thing to say, no other word for it.

On LGBTQ+ rights

Every so often, it’s helpful to receive a stark reminder that all struggles for liberation are intertwined. The fight for bodily autonomy is one struggle that encompasses both pregnancy and LGBTQ+ rights. And, sure enough, you can bet that the opponent of one is most likely an enemy of the other.

On trans rights, Kast has argued that:

For example, someone who legally changes their gender from female to male could then say they want to become a priest. This would violate the principles of religious freedom, particularly within the Catholic Church. Furthermore, it could force churches to perform same-sex marriages, again infringing on religious freedom. […]

It also creates the concept of de-pathologization. That is, medical diagnoses will be prohibited by law. This may be a victory for Movilh, but it is clearly a defeat for society, for individuals. Because what happens if a person suffering from depression decides to change their legal gender? They can do it once, but there’s no going back.

Why on earth might somebody be depressed before they transition? We just don’t know! Better strip them of their autonomy just to make sure nobody does anything the state might regret.

On that note, Kast – whilst denying his homophobia – also opposed the legislation of gay marriage in Chile. He’s stated that:

society works best with heterosexual couples.

…And finally

Last up, in spite of Chile having the largest Palestinian population outside of the Middle East itself, Kast himself is staunchly pro-Israel. He has repeatedly criticised Boric’s government for its anti-Zionism principles and policies. Notably, in a March 2024 tweet, he called Boric an antisemite for excluding Israel from the FIDAE airshow:

Chile’s Foreign Relations are too relevant to prioritize the whims of a President over the interests of the Nation. Boric, once again, evidences his antisemitism by leaving Israel out of FIDAE, in an irresponsible and markedly ideological decision.