Who is José Antonio Kast, the leader of the far-right party that won the constitutional elections in Chile?

Jose Antonio Kast57, is the founder and leader of the Republican Party, winner of the constituent elections this Sunday in Chili with more than 35% of the votes.

Known for his ultra-conservative ideas, kast He has defended the legacy of Augusto Pinochet and has positioned himself as the benchmark for the Chilean extreme right.

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In 2019 he founded the Republican Party, which brought together veteran right-wing militants and independents under an ultra-conservative ideology.

As a candidate for the Christian Social Front (which brought together his formation and the Christian Conservative Party), lost the December 2021 presidential election against the leftist Gabriel Boric, current head of state of the country.

Boric and Kast in an electoral debate in December 2021. (GETTY IMAGES).

pinochetista affinity

The son of German parents who immigrated to Chile in 1950, the lawyer was previously a member of the right-wing party Unión Demócrata Independiente, where he consolidated himself in politics, being elected deputy for the 30th district in 2002 and re-elected three times before starting his own way to found the Republican Party.

With nine children and close to the Catholic Schoenstatt movement, Kast applied for La Moneda for the first time in the 2017 elections, where he obtained fourth place with 8% of the votes.

Kast has repeatedly revealed his affinity with the late General Pinochetwho ruled Chile between 1973 and 1990.

Pinochet in 1980, the year the current Constitution was approved. (GETTY IMAGES).

Under the slogan of establishing “order and progress”, Kast declared in 2021 that if the leader of the Chilean military regime were alive, he would support him at the polls.

“Pinochet would vote for me, it’s obvious,” he said.

However, during the presidential campaign that year he tried to soften his speech by remarking that he did not support human rights violations.

Compared to Trump and Bolsonaro

Many of his postulates are compared to those of former presidents Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, although his style is less combative and more calm.

It is part of the international organization Political Network Values, which defends “the protection of human life, marriage, family and religious freedom”.

José Antonio Kast is known for his conservative positions on issues such as abortion, equal marriage and homoparental adoption.

Kast defends ultra-conservative ideas on the social level. (GETTY IMAGES).

Some of the axes of his ideology are security, economy and migration.

On this last point, Kast promised before the 2021 presidential elections to create a ditch on Chile’s northern border to control irregular migration to the country.

Regarding the violence that exists in the area of ​​La Araucanía, in the south, he is in favor of fighting the insurgency harshly, even using undercover agents to prosecute terrorist crimes.

kast poses give the market more leeway and reduce as much as possible the participation of the State in the economy.

In this context, he believes that it is better to lower taxes and reduce public spending, trusting that stability and public order will generate more investment and greater growth for the country.

He also believes that the individual savings system should be maintained and pensions improved by postponing the retirement age.

He has often been harsh in his words against Boric and his government, which he compares to those of Venezuela or Cuba and whom he accuses of being accomplices to “terrorists and murderers.”

In fact, one of his campaign slogans before the elections he lost to Boric was: “freedom and democracy against communism.”

Source: Elcomercio