Chile heads into conservative era with new president’s inauguration

José Antonio Kast was sworn in as president of Chile this week, marking the nation's most stark shift to the right in decades by pledging a tough stance on security and order.

The official inauguration of the far-right politician, who succeeds outgoing left-wing President Gabriel Boric, took place during a formal ceremony at the Chilean parliament in Valparaíso on February 11.

Kast won the presidential election  after his third attempt, held on December 14, 2025, by a decisive margin, securing 58.2 percent of the vote against Boric’s 41.8 percent. His campaign centered on promises to crack down on crime, combat irregular immigration and revive the country’s economy, as highlighted by local media outlets from South America.

The 60-year-old lawyer and father of nine has pledged to deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants, many of whom are from Venezuela.

"Pack your things and leave," he told them on the eve of the vote.

Kast has argued that immigration is part of a strategy by the "radical left" to undermine freedoms and says migrants are taking homes, hospital beds and government funds from Chileans.

They "told us that they can't close the borders and now we can't open our windows for fear of violence," he said.

His message resonated with voters concerned about rising insecurity and the rapid increase in Chile’s migrant population, even though crime statistics still place the country among the safer nations in Latin America.

Born in Santiago, Kast studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and has spent three decades in politics. The youngest of ten siblings, he inherited a successful sausage business founded by his German immigrant parents.

A devout Catholic, Kast broke with Chile’s mainstream conservative movement in 2016 to establish the Republican Party. He opposes abortion even in cases of rape and has also spoken against emergency contraception, divorce, same-sex marriage and euthanasia.

His rise comes amid a broader conservative shift across Latin America and follows the re-election of Donald Trump in the United States. The political shift also coincides with Washington’s renewed efforts to deepen ties with Latin American governments as they balance relations with both the United States and China, Chile’s largest trading partner.

Kast was among 12 regional leaders who attended Trump’s Shield of the Americas summit in Florida last weekend.

By Nazrin Sadigova