Chile Goes from Inspiring Change to a Conservative Backlash |
By Andres Kogan Valderrama
HAVANA TIMES – The recent victory of Jose Antonio Kast in the runoff of the 2025 presidential elections, where he decisively defeated Jeannette Jara, confirms the bleakest scenario many of us feared. We find ourselves in a deeply wounded Chile, where the far right has capitalized on social discontent to take up residence in La Moneda.
For those of us who aspire to greater justice and equality in the country, this result is a devastating blow. It arrives after a failed constituent assembly process, a Gabriel Boric government that did not meet transformative expectations, and the steady strengthening of the far right. This force, as in other parts of the world, has imposed an anti-rights agenda that promotes a minimal neoliberal state, racism against migrants and Indigenous peoples, homophobia and transphobia, denial of the climate crisis, and outright contempt for the demands of the feminist movement.
These elections unfolded in a political climate heavily tilted toward the far right, where repressive security discourses —à la Bukele—, the criminalization of migration —à la Trump—, and the idea that the public sector is inherently corrupt —à la Milei— penetrated deeply into Chilean society. As a result, the idea of an emergency government under José Antonio Kast took strong hold.
However, this climate did not arise out of nowhere; it emerged under conditions of social demobilization and a complete lack of........